PART 2 (Chapter 6) God makes Isaiah into a prophet.
PART 3 (Chapters 7-37) God’s KING rules God’s people.
PART 4 (Chapters 38-55) God’s SERVANT saves God’s people.
PART 5 (Chapters 56-66) God’s MESSIAH beats God’s enemies. PART 1: Chapters 1-5 Isaiah describes the people that live in the country called Judah and its capital city Jerusalem 1 This is what Isaiah, the son of Amoz, saw. He saw things about the country called Judah and the city called Jerusalem. It happened when Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah were kings of Judah. The problems of the country called Judah
2 Hear (the LORD, you) skies! And listen (to him, you) earth, because the LORD, he has spoken! (He has said,) ‘I have helped (my) sons to grow. And I have loved them. But even they have fought against me!
3 A cow knows its master. And a horse (knows) where its keeper feeds it. But Israel, they do not know (me). My people, they do not understand (me).’
4 Oh! (You are a) country that does not obey me. (All your) people are (like people who are) carrying a heavy weight. (It is) the wrong things (that you have done). (You are a) family (of people) that is always doing bad things. (You are) sons that destroy (everything). They have left the LORD. They think that the Holy (God) of Israel is silly. They have become strangers. Their backs are towards (him).
5 So, you continue to fight (against God). (The enemy) will only hurt you again. (Your) whole head is not well and (your) whole heart is ill.
6 From the under part of the feet, even to the head, there is no health in you. (There are) places (where people have) hit (you). (There are) places that hurt. People have cut some places until they bleed. Nobody has cleaned those places. Nobody has tied a cloth round them. Nobody has put medicine on them.
7 Your country is empty. Fire has burned your cities. Foreign people have taken everything from your fields. (They did it) in front of you. Strangers have destroyed (your country).
8 The Daughter of Zion, (Jerusalem,) remains like an empty hut in a vineyard. (She is) like a hut in a field of fruit. (She is) like a city that an enemy is attacking.
9 Unless the LORD of Everything had left some people to continue living, we would have been like Sodom. We would have been like Gomorrah. The problems of the religion of the country called Judah 10 Hear what the LORD says, (you) rulers of Sodom. Listen to our God. He is saying what you must do, (you) people in Gomorrah.
11 ‘All your sacrifices do not matter to me.’ (This is what) the LORD is saying. ‘I have had enough (sacrifices) that you have burned as gifts to me. (I have had enough) male sheep and the best bits of fat animals. (I have had enough) of the blood of male cows, goats and young sheep. They do not give me pleasure.
12 (There are times) when you come to appear in front of me. But nobody asked you to do this. Do not walk heavily round my temple.
13 Do not bring gifts (to me) that mean nothing! I do not like your incense. I do not like your new moons, (your) sabbaths and (your) special meetings. These meetings are bad.
14 I really do not like your new moon meetings and your holy days. They have become like a heavy weight for me. I am tired because I have to carry them.
15 I will hide my eyes from you, when you lift up your hands (to me). I will not listen (to you), even if you pray (to me) often. Your hands are full of blood.
16 Wash yourselves (and) make yourselves clean! Take away the bad things that you are doing. Then I will not see them. Do not continue to do what is wrong.
17 Learn to do what is right. Make justice your purpose. Do not let masters be very cruel (to people). Do not let people hurt children who have no father. Say good things on behalf of women whose husbands are dead.
18 Come, now’, the LORD is saying. ‘We should talk about this together. Even if your sins are as bright red, they shall be as white as snow. Even if they are as dark red, they shall be like wool.
19 Agree (with me). And obey (me). If you do (these things), you will eat the best food in the country.
20 But (if you do not do these things), the sword will kill you. (It will kill you) if you do not obey me. (It will kill you) if you continue to fight against me.’ This is what God himself has said. The problems of the people that live in the country called Judah
21 Oh! The City that Loved Me (as a wife) has become like a prostitute! (The city was) full of justice. Good people lived in her, but now there are people who murder (other people there).
22 Your silver has become dirt and you have mixed water with your best wine.
23 Your rulers are fighting against (God). And they are friends of robbers. They all accept things to help people (that they should not help). And (they all) hope for gifts like these. But they do not help children that have no father. (They do not help these children) when people hurt them. The women whose husbands are dead have problems. But (the problems) do not come to the (rulers).
24 So the Lord says this. (He is) the LORD of Everything (and he is) the Powerful (God) of Israel. ‘Oh! I will get rest from my enemies. And I will punish those people who fight against me.
25 And I will turn my hand against you and I will wash away all your dirt with soap and brush. So I will remove everything that is not clean.
26 And I will give back to you your judges, as (you had them) a long time ago. And (I will give back to you) the people that say what you must do, as at the beginning. After this, you will be called The Good City, and The City that Loves Me.’
27 (God) will use justice to make Zion free. (He will make things) right for the people that return (to him).
28 But he will destroy people that sin. (And he will destroy) those people that continue to fight (against him). The LORD will kill everybody that goes away from him.
29 Really, they will be ashamed of their special trees (called) oaks. You have found a lot of pleasure in them. The gardens that you have chosen will make you really ashamed.
30 You will be like an oak tree whose leaves are dying. (You will be like) a garden without water.
31 The strong man will become like something that burns easily. His work will be like something that causes things to burn. They will both burn together and nobody will put out the fire.
1 This is what Isaiah, the son of Amoz, ‘saw’ about Judah and Jerusalem. Words that cause us to hope in God
2 This is what will happen in the last days. The mountain, where the house of the LORD is, will always be there (in Jerusalem). It will be the most important mountain. It will be higher than the hills (round it). (People from) every country will come towards it.
3 And people from many countries will come (to it). And they will say, ‘Come! We shall go to the mountain of the LORD. We must go to the house of the God of Jacob. Then he will teach us his ways, so that we can walk in his paths.’ So, the word (of God) will go out from Zion. The LORD’s words will go out from Jerusalem.
4 (God) will be the judge between the nations. He will say (who is right. And he will say) who is wrong. They will use hammers to change their swords into parts of ploughs. And they will use their knives to prune plants. Nations will not attack other nations with swords, neither will they learn how to fight again.
5 House of Jacob, come and we shall walk in the light of the LORD. 6 But you, (LORD), have gone away from your people. They are the house (family) of Jacob. They are full (of magic) from (countries in) the east. They are like the people called Philistines. They have people who use magic to find out what will happen. Also, they join hands with foreign people.
7 Their country is full of silver and gold and they have many valuable things. Their country is full of horses and they have many chariots.
8 Idols that are worth nothing fill their country. They get down on the ground in front of things that their hands have made. (They are things) that their own fingers have made.
9 So, (the LORD) makes people humble and everyone becomes low! (LORD), do not lift them up again!
10 Go into (the holes in) the rocks and hide in the ground. (Hide) because you are afraid. (You are afraid) of (what) the LORD (will do). And (hide from) his great power.
11 (The LORD) will stop the way that proud people look at other people. And (he will make) very proud people humble. On that day, only the LORD will be important.
12 Yes! The LORD of Everything will choose a day. Then, (in that day, the LORD) will make humble everyone that is proud, very proud and important. 17 (The LORD) will stop the way that proud people look at other people. And he will make very proud people humble. On that day, only the LORD will be important.
18 And nobody will see any of the idols again.
19 And (people) will run to holes in the sides of the rocks and to holes in the ground. (They will run) because they are afraid of the LORD. (They will run) from his great power. (They will run) when he comes to punish the earth.
20 In that day people will throw away their silver idols and their gold idols. (They will throw them) to (animals) called rats and bats. They made (these idols) so that they could worship them.
21 Then people will run to large holes in the rocks and to holes in (the sides of) mountains. (They will run) because they are afraid of the LORD. And (they are afraid) of his great power, when he comes to punish the earth.
22 Do not ask human people (to help you). They get air through their noses! They are worth (nothing).
1 I will show you what the Lord, the LORD of Everything (will do). He will remove from Jerusalem and Judah everything that helps them. (He will take away) everything that supplies their food and their water. 4 ‘And I, (the LORD), will make boys their leaders and children will rule over them.’
5 The people will be cruel to each other. (It will be) man against man. (It will be) man against the person that lives near him. Young people will say bad things to older people. And bad people will say bad things to good people.
6 Then a man will hold his brother strongly in the house of his father. (The man will say), ‘You have a coat. So, you can be our leader! Then you can rule over these buildings that (the enemy) destroyed!’
7 On that day, (the brother) will refuse. He will say, ‘I cannot help! There is no food and no coat in my house. Do not make me a leader of people.’
8 (This will happen because the leaders of) Jerusalem and Judah have started to fall. Then they have fallen down. Their words and the things that they do are against the LORD. They have said bad things about his great glory.
9 Their faces show what they are really like. It is clear that they have sinned, like the (people in) Sodom. They do not hide it. It is so sad! They have brought great trouble to themselves.
10 Tell the very good people that things will be well for them. They will enjoy the results of the good things that they have done.
11 The very bad person will be very sad. He will have great trouble. (Here is the reason.) What his hands have done (to other people) will happen to him.
12 Children are cruel to my people and women rule over them. My people, your leaders have not ruled you well. They have led you away from the (right) paths.
13 The LORD stands up to tell (his enemies) that they have done wrong things. He stands as a judge of (many) countries.
14 The LORD comes as judge of those people who are in the government. (He comes as judge) of the leaders. (He says that) they burned the vineyard. Also, they kept what they took away from the poor people.
15 The LORD of Everything asks (them these questions): 16 The LORD says, ‘The Daughters of Zion are very proud. They lift up their necks when they walk. They glance to see (if the men are looking at them). They walk (so that men do look at them). The little bells on their ankles make a sound when they walk.
17 So the LORD will make places that hurt them on their heads. He will make their heads bald.’ 24 There will be a bad smell instead of perfume. There will be a rope instead of a belt. They will not have lovely hair. They will be bald instead. Instead of good clothes (they will wear) cheap hairy cloth. They will not be beautiful. Instead, there will be only shame.
25 Swords will kill your men. Your strong men will die in wars.
26 And the gates (of Zion) will be (like) sad (people). And they will (be like people who) cry. Zion will (be like people who) sit on the ground. (And the city will be) empty.
1 In that day, 7 women will (find and) hold one man. They will say, ‘We will eat our own bread and we will wear our own clothes. But, let us call ourselves by your name. Take away our shame.’ More good news
2 In that day, the Branch of the LORD will be something pretty and something that has glory. And the fruit of the land will be as something proud and something beautiful. (They will be) for Israel’s people that will become free.
3 Everyone that remains in Zion will be called holy. Also, (everyone) who stays in Jerusalem (will be called holy). All their names will be on a list of people who are living in Jerusalem.
4 (This will happen) when the Lord will wash away the dirt from the Daughters of Zion. Also, (then) he will make Jerusalem clean from the marks left by blood. (He will do this) by a spirit that will be a judge and by a spirit of fire.
5 (This is what) the LORD will make over all the mountain called Zion. And (it will be over) all the people that come together there. (He will make) a lot of smoke during the day. And (he will make) a fire, which shines in the night. The glory will be like a coat over everything.
6 It will be a place to hide from the heat in the day. And it will be a place to hide from storms and rain.
1 Now I will sing for the person that I love. (I will sing) a song of love about his vineyard. 2 He dug (the ground) and he removed the stones. He planted the best vines in it. 3 And now, (listen to me,) you people that live in Jerusalem. And (listen,) all you people that live in Judah. You decide who was wrong, me or my vineyard.
4 There was nothing else that I ought to have done for my vineyard. I had done everything for it! I waited for (good) grapes. (Tell me) why it gave bad grapes!
5 And now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard. I will take away its wall. Then (animals will come in and) eat (the vines). I will knock down its wall and (the animals) will walk all over (the vineyard).
6 I will make the land so that nobody can use it. Nobody will prune the vines or dig the ground round them. So weeds and thorns will grow there. I will say to the clouds, ‘Do not (drop) rain on it.’
7 Now the vineyard of the LORD of Everything is like a picture of Israel. The plants (in it) that he likes are the people in Judah. The LORD looked for justice, but he saw only the opposite. (He wanted) people to be very good. But he only heard people that were crying for help. 8 The people who build (one) house (next) to (another) house will be very sad. Also, they join (one) field to (another) field. (They do this) until there is no more room. Then you live alone on the land.
9 I have heard the LORD of Everything (promise this. He said this.) ‘I am sure that many houses will be empty. There will be large and beautiful houses that nobody lives in.
10 Also, large parts of the vineyard will give only a small amount (of wine). Very large amounts of seed will cause only a few plants to grow.’
11 The people that get up early in the morning will be very sad. (They do this) so that they can get a drink of alcohol. They go to bed late in the evening, so that wine can cause them to become drunks.
12 At their parties there is (music from) lyre and harp, tambourine and flute. (They enjoy) their wine. But they think that God’s works have no value. They do not really like what he has made.
13 So my people will go into exile, because they do not understand (God). Their leaders will die because they do not have enough food. And very many people will not have anything to drink.
14 So Sheol will open its mouth very wide to eat more (people). The leaders and the people will go into it. (Death will take in) the crowds that make a lot of noise. Also, (it will take in) the people that have parties (in Jerusalem).
15 So (the LORD) will make people humble. Then (God) will make everybody low! (He will) take away their proud faces.
16 But his justice will make the LORD of Everything great! The Holy God will show that he is holy because he is so very good.
17 Then the sheep will eat grass as (they do in) their own fields. Young sheep will eat in the large houses (that the enemy) destroyed.
18 The people who tie themselves to sin with silly (pieces of) line will be very sad. (They pull) sin as (a horse pulls) a cart with ropes.
19 Those people who say, ‘(The LORD) must hurry!’ will be very sad. (They say) ‘He must do his work quickly, so that we can see it. We want to hear the ideas of the Holy (One) of Israel. We want them to happen! Then we will really know (that they are true)!’
20 The people that call wrong things right and right things wrong will be very sad. They say that it is light when it is dark. And (they say) that it is dark when it is light. They say that bitter things are sweet. And (they say) that sweet things are bitter.
21 Some people think that they are clever. Those people will be very sad. They think that they are clever.
22 Some people think that they are great. Those people will be very sad. (They think this) because they drink much wine. Also, some people are strong when they mix strong drink. (Those people will be very sad.)
23 They do not punish guilty people, when (the guilty) people give them money. There is no justice for people that are not guilty.
24 So as (surely as) fire burns dry plants, parts of them will fall into pieces. And as fire burns away dry grass, their flowers will blow away like small pieces of dirt. (This will happen) because they refused to obey the LORD of Everything. He said what they should do. (But they did not do it.) And they thought that the words of the Holy One of Israel were silly.
25 For this reason the LORD became angry with his people. He punished them, as if someone had hit them with his hand. And the mountains moved and (his people’s) dead bodies became like dirt in the streets. (The LORD has done) all this but he is still angry with them. And his hand is still ready (to hit them again). 26 (The LORD) will send a message to nations that are far away. And he will (blow on his) whistle to (a nation at) the ends of the earth. And look! Here (its army) comes, very quickly!
27 Nobody is tired; nobody falls down. Nobody rests; nobody sleeps. Nobody has a belt that they have not fastened. And nobody has broken a part of a shoe.
28 Their arrows are sharp and their bows are ready to shoot. Their horses’ feet are (as hard) as stones. And the wheels (on their chariots go as fast) as a strong wind.
29 They roar like a lion, they make a noise like a young lion. They roar while they catch an animal to eat. They carry it away and nobody can save it.
30 On that day, (the enemy) will roar over what they catch. Their roar will be like the sea. And if anybody looks to the land they will see darkness. And (they will see) people that are very much afraid. Also, clouds will hide the light (of the sun). PART 2: Chapter 6 God makes Isaiah into a prophet
1 (It happened) in the year when King Uzziah died. I saw my Lord. He was sitting on a very high seat. The ends of his very long coat filled the temple.
2 Above (the Lord) were seraphs. They were waiting to do what he wanted them to do. Each one had 6 wings. Two (of the wings) were covering their faces. Two of them were covering their feet. With two of them they were flying.
3 One (seraph) spoke to another. They said, ‘Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of Everything! The whole earth is full of his glory.’
4 When each (seraph) spoke, the door-steps of the temple moved. Also, the temple was full of smoke.
5 Then I said, ‘I am very sad, because I must not speak! I am a man with lips that are not clean. And I live among people with lips that are not clean. And with my own eyes I have seen the King, the LORD of Everything!’
6 Then one of the seraphs flew towards me. In his hand was a (piece of) coal that was burning. He had taken it from the altar with a special tool.
7 And he touched my mouth (with it). And he said, ‘Look! This has touched your lips and it has taken away your guilt. It has covered your sin.’
8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord. He said, ‘Whom shall I send and who will go for us?’ Then I said, ‘I am here. Send me.’
9 And (God said), ‘Go! And tell this to the people (in Judah): 10 Make the heart of these people fat. Close their ears and shut their eyes. If (you do not do this) they will see with their eyes. They will hear with their ears and they will understand with their hearts. (Then they will) turn and they will be well again.’
11 Then I said, ‘For how long, Lord, (must I do this)?’ And (this is what) he answered: 12 (Do it until) the LORD removes people to far away (places). 13 And even if one in every 10 (places or people) stay, an enemy will burn them again! (They will do it as they burn) trees called terebinths and oaks. But from what remains of such a tree, an holy people will grow.’ PART 3: Chapters 7-37 God’s king rules God’s people 1 Ahaz became the king of Judah. He was the son of (King) Jotham. (Jotham was) the son of (King) Uzziah. (When Ahaz was king), Rezin, the king of Syria, and Pekah, the king of Israel, both attacked Jerusalem. But they did not win the fight. (Pekah was the) son of Remaliah.
2 (People that were in the government) told (this to Ahaz. He was from) the family of David. (They said,) ‘Syria and Ephraim have agreed (to attack you).’ Ahaz and his people (were afraid). Their hearts moved, as trees in the forest move in the wind.
3 Then the LORD said to Isaiah, ‘Go out and meet Ahaz. You and Shear Jashub, your son, will meet him at the end of the water stream. That (stream) pours from the higher pool down to where people wash clothes.’
4 (The LORD said,) ‘Say (to Ahaz), “Be careful. And be very quiet. Do not be afraid. Do not be afraid because Rezin and the people from Syria and Pekah, the son of Remaliah, are angry. They are trying to ‘start a fire’, but their ‘fire’ will soon finish.
5 (Do not be afraid) because (the king of) Syria and the son of Remaliah have made bad plans against you. They have said,
6 ‘We must attack Judah. We will frighten (the people). We will destroy (their country) and it will become ours. We will make the son of Tabeal king there.’
7 The LORD, who is Lord, says this. ‘It will not happen, it will never happen!
8 (It will not happen,) because the capital (city) of Syria is Damascus. Now the king of Damascus is Rezin. And 65 years from now Ephraim will not be (a country)! There will be no people (of Ephraim) there.
9 And the capital (city) of Ephraim is Samaria. And the king of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. And if you do not believe this, you will not be alive (either).’ ” ’
10 And the LORD spoke again (to Isaiah. ‘Say this) to Ahaz.(’)
11 He said, ‘Ask the LORD your God for a message. Ask for it deep (in the earth) or high (in the sky).’
12 But Ahaz said, ‘I will never ask (for a message) or ask the LORD to do something.’
13 And he (Isaiah) said, ‘Now listen, (Ahaz. You belong to the) family of David! You are making (your) people angry (with you). And you are making God angry with you too.
14 So the Lord himself will give you a message. Look, the virgin will become pregnant. She will have a son and she will call his name Immanu El.
15 (One day) he will know (the difference between) right things and wrong things. Then he will (be old enough) to eat butter and sugar.
16 But even before the child knows (the difference between) right things and wrong things, (Assyria) will destroy (Ephraim and Syria). The two kings that you are afraid of will be (in other countries themselves).
17 The LORD will bring the king of Assyria to you and to your people. (He will come) to the house of your father. It will be a special time. There have been no days like it since Ephraim became separate from Judah.’
18 On that day the LORD will tell the flies at the higher end of the river in Egypt that they must come. And he will tell the bees in the country called Assyria that they must come.
19 And they will all come and they will land on (these places): 20 On that day the Lord will use the king of Assyria. He will come from beyond the river. He will cut off the hair from your head, your legs and your beard.
21 On that day a man will keep alive a young cow and two goats.
22 They will give a lot of milk, so he will have butter to eat. Everyone that remains in the country will eat butter and sugar.
23 On that day, in every place where there were 1000 vines, there will be weeds and thorns. (1000 vines) are worth 1000 pieces of silver.
24 A man will go there with a bow and arrows. (He will do this) because there will be brambles and thorns on all the land.
25 Nobody will go to the hills because they are afraid of the brambles and thorns. (These are the hills where) people would dig to grow plants. Now cows go there and sheep run about.
1 And the LORD said to me, ‘Get something big to write on. Then write on it, with a tool that will write (words on stones. Write “This is) about Maher-shalal-hash-baz.”
2 And I will ask (two) special people to come to me. They must say what is true. (One will be) Uriah the priest and (the other will be) Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah. They will be my special people. They must say what is true.’
3 Then I went to the prophetess. She became pregnant and she had a son. And the LORD said to me, ‘Call his name Maher-shalal-hash-baz.
4 Before the child knows how to say “my father” or “my mother” (this will happen). The king of Assyria will carry away the valuable things from Damascus and from Samaria.’
5 The LORD spoke to me again. (He told me) that I must say,
6 ‘This people has refused (to accept) the waters of Shiloah, which move quietly. And (they have said that they) are very happy about Rezin and the son of Remaliah.
7 So, see (what will happen). The LORD will bring against them the waters of the River (Euphrates). (The waters will be) strong and powerful. (Really, the waters will be) the king of Assyria and his powerful (armies). (They will come) like a great river that rises. And it goes over its sides.
8 Then it will pour quickly into Judah. It will rise over its sides and it will go over (the land). It will even reach the neck! His wings will open out and cover all your country, Immanu El.
9 Join together (against your enemies), you people, but they will kill you all. Listen carefully, all you far countries. Get ready for war, but (your enemies) will kill your people. Get ready to fight, but (your enemies) will kill you.
10 Make plans together, but (the plans) will fail! Talk about what you will do. But it will not happen. (Your plans will fail) because Immanu El (God is with us)!’
11 Now the LORD spoke to me. (He said this) while his strong hand was upon me. He said that I must not to do what this people (the people in Judah) were doing. He said,
12 ‘You must not think, “Everything that this people call a secret plan is a secret plan.” Also, do not be afraid of what they are afraid of. And do not let it frighten you.
13 Instead, be afraid of the LORD of Everything! You should think of him as holy. You should be afraid of him,
14 because he, (the LORD,) will be a safe place. 15 Many people’s feet will hit something and they will fall. (The LORD) will hurt them very badly. He will catch and hold them!’
16 Tie up what I have said (in a scroll). Fasten what I have taught to my disciples.
17 And I will wait for the LORD. He is hiding his face from the house of Jacob (Israel’s people). But I believe that he (the LORD will do something).
18 Here am I and the children that the LORD has given to me. We are messages, messages from the LORD of Everything to (the people in) Israel. He lives on the mountain (called) Zion.
19 And they will say to you, ‘Ask the mediums and wizards. They will tell you what you should do.’ (Mediums and wizards) make noises like birds or animals! People should ask their God what to do. People who are alive should not talk to dead people.
20 (Listen again) to what I have said. And (listen) to what I have taught you. (If you listen to) their words, then there will be no dawn!
21 Then they will go through the country and they will not be very happy. They will not have enough to eat. Because they do not have enough to eat, they will become angry. They will look up (to where God lives). Then they will say bad things about their king and about their God.
22 And they will look to the earth. But they will see that it is dark and (that people are) not very happy. In the dark, (people will be) very sad. It will push (people) into something even blacker.
1 But there will be no dark places for the people that were not very happy. In past years, (God) let trouble happen to the people in the places called Zebulun and Naphtali. But in future years, he will send glory to (these places): 2 The people that walk in the dark will see a great light. The light will shine on those (people) that live on land full of dark shadows.
3 You (LORD) will make the country bigger. And you will make its people much happier. They will be happy with you as when people are happy at harvest time. Soldiers are also happy, because of what they have won in war. And its people will be happy like them.
4 (This is) because, as in the time of Midian, (you will kill our enemies). You will break (these things): 5 Then they will burn as material for the fire every boot that soldiers wore in war. And (they will burn) the clothes with blood on them.
6 (They will do this) because a child is born for us. (God has) given us a son. And that son will always have authority (to rule the people). And (people) will call him by these names: 7 His authority will become greater. And the peace that he will bring will never come to an end. He will be king over (the land) that David ruled. He will make it safe. He will make sure that it has justice. And its people will be very good, now and always. The LORD of Everything will cause this to happen, because he loves (his people). God has punished Israel and he will do it again 8 The Lord sent a message against Jacob and it came to Israel.
9 And all the people (that live in) Ephraim and Samaria know about it. They praise themselves (with these words).
10 ‘(Our) brick (houses) fell down. But we will build them again with stones that we have cut. They have knocked down (buildings that we made from) sycamore trees. But we will build them again with cedar (trees, which are better).’
11 But the LORD will make the enemies of Rezin stronger against him. Also, he will help those enemies.
12 The people from Syria on the east and the people from Philistia on the west have opened their mouths. And they have eaten Israel. But (the LORD) is still angry and his hand is still ready (to hit them again). 13 But the people did not turn to him who hit them. Neither did they go to the LORD of Everything.
14 So in one day the LORD will cut off from Israel head and tail. (He will also cut off) palm branch and reed.
15 The head means the older men and the important people. The tail means the (false) prophets. They teach what is not true.
16 The leaders of this people lead them away from what is true. They confuse the people that they are leaders of.
17 So the Lord will not feel happy with their young men. And he will not be kind and help (children) without fathers. (He will not help) women whose husbands are dead. This is because nobody obeys God. (Everyone) does wrong things. What everyone says tells us this. They are fools. But (the LORD) is still angry and his hand is still ready (to hit them again).
18 The wrong things (that people do) burn like a fire. They eat up briars and thorns. They burn up the bushes in the forest. And they rise up (into the sky) like a lot of smoke.
19 He is very angry, so the LORD of Everything will burn the land. Also, the people will be like material for the fire. No man will be kind to his brother (another Jew).
20 They will take food on their right (side), but they will remain hungry. And they will eat what is on the left (side), but it will not fill them. Everyone will eat the body of the person that lives near him.
21 Ephraim will eat Manasseh and Manasseh will eat Ephraim. And both of them (will fight) against Judah. But (the LORD) is still angry and his hand is still ready (to hit them again).
1 (Some) people make rules that are not fair. (They also make) rules that are cruel to people. Those people will be very sad.
2 (They do these things:) 3 You can do nothing when God punishes you. And (you can do nothing) in a storm that comes from far away. Nobody will help you and there will be nowhere to hide your valuable things.
4 You can only go to be with the people that are in a prison. Or perhaps you will die with those (that the enemy) kills in war. But (the LORD) is still angry and his hand is still ready (to hit them again). Then God will punish Assyria
5 (The people) in Assyria (will be very sad). (I will use them) like a stick, because I am angry. They (will be like someone who hits Israel) with a heavy stick. (They will do that) because I am so very angry.
6 I will send (the people from Assyria) against (Israel, because Israel) does not obey God. I will tell (them that they must attack Israel). I am angry with the people (in Israel). (The people from Assyria) will take what (the people in Israel) have. And they will rob them of their things. Then (the people from Assyria) will walk all over them, as (if Israel’s people were) dirt in the streets.
7 But this is not what (Assyria’s people) are thinking. Their ideas are different. They want to beat as many countries as they can. (They want) to destroy them.
8 (The king of Assyria) boasts, ‘All the leaders of my armies are (like) kings!
9 (The city that is called) Calno is like Carchemish. Hamath is like Arpad and Samaria is like Damascus.
10 My hand took all these places and their idols. They had more idols than Jerusalem and Samaria.
11 So I will do to Jerusalem and her idols what I did to Samaria and her idols.’
12 The Lord will finish all his work against the hill called Zion and Jerusalem. Then (he will say), ‘I will punish the king of Assyria. He boasts in his mind and there is pride in his eyes.’
13 (This is what the king of Assyria) says. ‘I have done this because I am so strong. Also, I am very clever. (So) I know (what to do). I have removed the boundaries between countries. Also, I have taken their valuable things. Like a wild animal, I have attacked their people.
14 My hand found the valuable things of (many) countries. (I did this) as one finds a (bird’s) home. I have got all the earth (as easily) as people take eggs from an empty bird’s home. And nobody moved a wing or opened a mouth to make a noise.’
15 (The LORD says,) ‘The axe is not more powerful than the person that uses it. A tool is not more important than the person that uses it. (Also, it is silly) to think that a stick can move its user! Or (it is silly to think) that a thick stick can move a man!
16 So the Lord, the LORD of Everything, will send an illness to (Assyria’s) fat soldiers. They will become thin! He will light a fire under their pride. It will burn with a bright light.
17 (The LORD, who is) the Light of Israel, will become a fire. The Holy One (of Israel) will become a bright fire. And it will burn and destroy (Assyria’s) thorns and briars in one day.
18 (The LORD) will completely destroy (Assyria’s) great forests and its good fields. Its people’s spirit and body will become as nothing.
19 Only a few forest trees will remain, so that even a child will be able to count them! But God will help the people that continue to love him
20 When that happens, (this will happen to) the remnant of Israel. (They are) the people of Jacob that are still alive. 21 A remnant, a remnant of Jacob, will return and get help from the Great God.
22 Israel, only a remnant (of you) will return. (This is) even when there are so many of you. (There are as many of you) as there are bits of sand on the sea shore.
23 This will happen because the Lord, the LORD of Everything, will destroy the whole country. (He will destroy it), as he promised to do.’
24 So, this is what the Lord, the LORD of Everything says. ‘My people who live in Zion, do not be afraid of the people from Assyria. They will be like someone who hits you with a stick. They will lift up a big stick against you like the people in Egypt did.
25 But soon I will not be angry with you. Instead, I will be angry (with the people from Assyria) and I will kill them.
26 And the LORD of Everything will use a whip against them. He will do this as when he killed Midian’s people at the Rock of Oreb. His stick will be over the sea, and he will lift it up. (He will lift it up) as he did in Egypt.
27 In that day the weight will come off your shoulder. (The LORD) will destroy the yoke on your neck.’
28 (Assyria) will start from Rimmon and he will go to Aiath. He will pass through Migron. He will store his things at Michmash.
29 They will pass (through the hills), and they will stay for a night at Geba. (The people in) Ramah will be afraid and (the people in) Gibeah of Saul will run away.
30 People in Gallim, shout (for help)! Listen, (people in) Laish. Answer them, (people in) Anathoth.
31 (The people in) Madmenah will run away. And those that live in Gebim will rush to a safe place.
32 He will remain at Nob the day (that he arrives there). He will move his fist angrily towards the people who live in Zion and on the hill of Jerusalem.
33 But look! The Lord, the LORD of Everything, will cut off the branches with (his) power which frightens (people). He will cut down the tallest trees. And he will cause those that are very high to lie low.
34 He will cut down the trees in the forest with an axe. Also, (the great trees from) Lebanon will fall down.
1 The part of the Tree of Jesse that remains will start to grow. Then a Branch will grow from the part of it that is under the ground.
2 The Spirit of the LORD will come on him. (It will be like this:) 3 To obey the LORD will give pleasure (to the Branch). He will not decide about things (only) with what his eyes see. (He will not) decide (only) with what his ears hear.
4 But what he decides about poor people will be with justice. Also, he will decide about people who are not powerful. He will be fair. He will punish bad people and his words will kill them.
5 (He will wear) true justice like a belt round him. (He will) also (wear) as clothes (the fact that he is) always there.
6 Wolves will live with young sheep (and will not eat them)! And leopards will lie down with young goats! Young cows and lions will feed together and young children will lead them!
7 Cows and bears will feed (together) and their young (animals) will lie down together. And lions will eat dry grass like cows.
8 And a small baby will play (safely) near the hole where a dangerous snake (lives). And a young child (will be safe) if he puts his hand on to the home of (another) dangerous snake.
9 They will not hurt nor kill (each other) in all my holy mountain. Then the earth shall be as full of facts about the LORD as water fills the sea.
10 In that day, the part (of the tree) of Jesse will be a like a sign to (all) peoples. Other countries will come to him. And the place where he lives will be wonderful.
11 And on that day, my Lord will do something for the second time. He will save the remnant of his people that are still (alive. He will take them) from Assyria, Egypt, Pathros, Elam, Shinar, Hamath and from countries by the sea.
12 (The Lord) will lift up a sign for these countries (to see). He will bring together the people from Israel (that Assyria) took away. He will bring back the exiles of Judah from all over the earth.
13 No longer will Ephraim not like (Judah) and Judah will not attack (Ephraim) any longer. Ephraim will no longer want what Judah has. Also, Judah will not cause trouble for Ephraim again.
14 But together they will attack the low hills of Philistia to the west. They will beat the people to the east (of the River Jordan). They will fight against Edom and Moab, and the people in Ammon will obey them.
15 The LORD completely destroyed part of the Sea of Egypt. He will lift his hand over the River (Euphrates). Then he will send a hot wind that burns things. It will make (the river) into 7 streams, so that people can cross it with dry feet.
16 And there will be a good road from Assyria for the remnant. (They are the LORD’s) people that remain. It will be (as good a road) as when Israel came up from the country called Egypt.
1 You will say in that day, ‘I praise you, LORD. You were angry with me, but now, you are not angry (with me). Now you are being kind to me.
2 Listen! God has made me safe! I will continue to believe (in him). And I will not be afraid because the LORD, the LORD, has made me strong. He is the person that I am singing about. He has made me safe.
3 You will get water happily from the wells. (This water) will make you safe.’
4 And you will say in that day, ‘Praise the LORD! Shout (aloud) his name! Tell everybody what God has done. Cause them to remember that he is very great.
5 Sing psalms to the LORD because he has done wonderful things! Cause everyone in the world to know it!
6 Everyone that lives in Zion, shout! And sing because you are so happy! The Holy One of Israel is great and he is (living) with you.’
1 (These are) serious words (about) Babylon that Isaiah the son of Amoz ‘saw’. 2 Lift up a sign on an empty hill. Shout aloud to them and lift a hand! Then they will go through the gates of the kings.
3 I myself have sent my holy ones. I have told them what they must do. Also, my brave soldiers (must say) that I am very angry. I have sent them. (They are) my proud (soldiers). Nobody has ever beaten them. 4 (Listen to) the sound of a very big crowd! (They are) people (that are) on the mountains! (Listen to) the sound of these people. They are shouting while they come together from many countries! The LORD of Many (Armies) is preparing an army ready for war.
5 People are coming from a country that is far away. (They are coming) from the ends of the skies. The LORD (is coming) with arms, (because he is) angry. He will destroy the whole country (of Babylon).
6 Weep, because the day of the LORD is near. It will happen when Shaddai destroys (your country).
7 Everybody’s hands will become weak because of this. And every human heart will fail,
8 and they will be very much afraid. They will hurt and they will be in much pain. They will be (afraid) like a woman that is having (a baby). They will look at each other and their faces will frighten each other.
9 Look! The day of the LORD will happen (soon!) (It will be) cruel. (The LORD) will be angry. He will be like an angry fire! It will make the country (of Babylon) empty and it will kill (all the) sinners in it.
10 Yes! The stars in the skies, all of them, will give no light. When the sun appears (in the morning), it will still be dark. The moon will not shine.
11 I will cause very bad things to happen to the world. And (I will punish) bad people for their sins. I will not let proud people think that they are better (than anyone else). And I will beat strong people that hurt (weak people).
12 I will make men harder to find than the best gold. And men and women will be more difficult to find than gold from Ophir.
13 So I will cause the skies to move. The earth will move. And (people) will see how angry the LORD of Many (Armies) is.
14 And people will look at each other and they will run away to their own country. They will be like wild animals that run away from the hunter. Or (they will be) like sheep with nobody to lead them.
15 (The foreign army) will (kill) with sharp knives anyone that tries to run away. And they will kill with the sword anyone that they catch.
16 They will break young children into pieces while (the children’s parents) watch. They will rob the people’s homes and they will have sex with their wives.
17 Look, I will cause the Medes to come (to fight) against (Babylon). (The Medes) do not ask for silver or gold.
18 Their bows will kill the young men. They will not be kind to babies. And they will not seem sorry for the children.
19 And Babylon will be like Sodom and Gomorrah when God destroyed them. (This will happen even if other) countries think, ‘Babylon is beautiful.’ The people in Chaldea are proud of (Babylon).
20 People will never live there again. And none of its children will ever live there again. No Arab will put his tent there. No farmers will cause their animals to lie down there.
21 Only wild animals will lie down there. Its houses will be full of owls that scream. And ostriches will live there. Wild goats will dance about in it.
22 Hyenas will make a noise in its tall buildings and jackals will live in its beautiful palaces. (The Medes) will soon destroy it. It does not have many more days.
1 The LORD will be sorry for Jacob and he will choose Israel again. Then he will give them rest in their own country. Also, people from a foreign country will join themselves to the people of Jacob. They will really become united with them.
2 And the (foreign) people will take the people (of Israel) and bring them to their own country (Israel). Then the people of Israel will rule the foreign people in the LORD’s country. They (the foreign people) will become male and female slaves. So the people that made (Israel) prisoners, will be prisoners themselves! (Israel) will rule over the people that were cruel to them. More about Babylon
3 On that day, this will happen. The LORD will give you rest from these things: 4 You will laugh at the king of Babylon. Then you will say (to him), ‘Now you cannot be cruel to us, nor can you attack us!
5 The LORD has destroyed the authority of bad people. He has removed the power of the rulers (of Babylon).
6 (The rulers of Babylon) hit many people because they were angry with them. They never stopped hitting them. They were very angry, so they attacked (other) countries. They never stopped fighting them.
7 (But now) there is no war in the whole world and it can rest. Everyone is singing (because they are so happy)!
8 Even the pine trees and the cedar trees in Lebanon are happy. (They say this) to you, (king of Babylon): “Since (the LORD) beat you, nobody has come to cut us down!”
9 When you arrive there, you will get much interest from (the people in) Sheol. People there will (come) to meet you! You will wake up the Rephaim, who were all leaders on the earth. (They will come) to say, “welcome” to you. All who were kings of the their countries will stand up from their seats.
10 All of them will speak to you and say this. “Even you have become as weak as we (are)! You have become like us!”
11 Your pride will bring you down to Sheol with the noise of your harps. Under you will be a bed of maggots and (over you) a blanket of worms.’ More words about Babylon 12 ‘Look at you! You have fallen from the skies! 13 You said in your mind, “I will go up into the heavens. 14 I will rise above the tops of the clouds. I will be like the Most High.”
15 But he has brought you down to Sheol, to the deepest Pit!’ More words about Babylon
16 ‘Those (people) that see you will really look at you. They will think this about you. “This is the man that caused the earth to move. He caused countries to shake.
17 (This is the man) that made the world like a desert. He destroyed its cities. He did not let his prisoners go (back to their) homes.”
18 All the kings of all the countries – yes! all of them – lie down in a good place. Each (king lies) in his own grave.
19 But you, they will throw you out without a grave! You will be like a branch (that people throw) away. Or (you will be like) the clothes of a dead man that a sword has cut. (You will be like) someone that fell on to the stones in a big hole. Or (you will be like) a dead body that people have kicked.
20 They will not bury you with the other (kings of Babylon). Here are the reasons: 21 Prepare a place where they will kill his children. (They will kill them) because their parents sinned. Then his children will not rule the world or fill it with cities.’
22 ‘I will fight against them’, says the LORD of Many Armies. The LORD of Many Armies also says, ‘I will remove the name of Babylon. (I will remove its) people that remain, their children and their children’s children.’
23 The LORD of Many Armies says this also: ‘I will make (Babylon) a place where owls live. Also, (it will be a place) where there are pools of water. And I will take it away completely (like a man sweeps things away) with a brush.’ A few words about Assyria
24 The LORD of Many Armies has made a serious promise. ‘It will happen as my plan says. I will really do what I have decided to do.
25 I will kill the man from Assyria in my country. Also, I will put him under my feet on my mountains. Then, he will not be cruel to my people. Also, they will not have to carry his heavy weights again.’
26 This is the plan that (he) made for the whole earth. And this is the hand that (he) lifted over all the nations.
27 This is the plan of the LORD of Many Armies. Nobody can change it. He has lifted up his hand. Nobody can change this. A few words about Philistia
28 In the year that King Ahaz died, (Isaiah) received this message:
29 ‘Do not feel happy, you people in Philistia. (God) has broken the stick that hit you. But from that snake a more dangerous snake will come. And from that (snake) will come a snake that can fly!
30 But poor people will feed their (animals) that were born first. And people that need (help) will sleep safely. Then I will cause your people (in Philistia) to die because there is no food. And I will kill the people that remain.
31 Gate (of the city), cry! City (itself), scream! Move away, all you people in Philistia! (Do this) because smoke will come from the north. Everybody in (that) army will march quickly.’ 32 ‘What shall we say to the people that bring messages from the government? Say that the LORD has built Zion. And (say) that his poor people will be safe there.’
1 (This is) a serious message (about) Moab. 2 (The people in) Dibon have gone up to their temple to weep. (They have gone up to) the high places. Moab is crying about Nebo and Medeba. Every head is bald and (they have) cut off every beard.
3 They are wearing hairy cloth in the streets. On the roofs (of their houses) they are weeping. And in the open places (in their towns they are weeping). Tears cover their faces.
4 Then (the people in) Heshbon and Elealeh cried aloud. (People) as far away as Jahaz heard the sound! The soldiers of Moab cry aloud (because they are afraid). The minds (of Moab’s people) are afraid.
5 Inside, I feel like a man who is crying aloud for Moab! Its people have run away as far as Zoar (and) Eglath Shelishijah. 6 It is true! It is not wet; it is dry in (the Valley of) Nimrim. 7 So, they are carrying away over the Wadi Arabim whatever they found still (in the fields). And they are carrying away what they have saved. 8 It is true! The sounds (of people that ask for help) reach the edges of Moab. (People) as far as Eglaim heard (Moab’s) sad songs. (Moab’s) sad songs reached Beer Elim.
9 It is true! Blood fills the waters of Dimon. 1 Send young sheep from the ruler of the country (to Jerusalem). Send them from Sela across the desert to the mountain of the Daughter of Zion (Jerusalem).
2 The women from Moab (are crossing) the River Arnon. (They are) like birds that are learning to fly. (The mother bird) has pushed them out from their home.
3 Tell us what we should do! Be fair about what you say! Cause your shadow (over us) to seem like it is night in the middle of the day! Hide the refugees! Do not show (to their enemies) the people that have run away!
4 Let the people from Moab who are running away stay with you. Hide them from (the enemy that is) killing them. 5 Someone from David’s family will build a kingdom. The man that rules it will be fair and honest. He will be a fair judge. He will decide rightly. And he will quickly cause (his people) to do what is right.
6 We have heard about the pride of Moab. (Moab was) very proud. In its pride, (Moab) thought that it was better (than other people). And Moab said things that were not kind (to them).
7 So Moab weeps. All Moab weeps for itself. Sing a sad song. And cry for the cakes made with very dry grapes from Kir Hareseth!
8 It is true! There are no (fruits) in the fields in Heshbon. And (there is nothing on) the vine of Sibmah. The rulers of (other) countries have destroyed its branches. (The branches) reached to Jazer (in the north-west) and as far as the desert (in the east). Its new branches grew and they crossed over (the Dead) Sea.
9 Because of this, I weep for the vine of Sibmah, as Jazer weeps. I put my tears all over you, Heshbon and Elealeh. 10 Nobody is really happy in the fields. Nobody sings or shouts (because they are happy) in the vineyards. Nobody jumps on the grapes in the places where they make wine. I have caused the noise to stop.
11 So, I cry deep inside me for Moab. It is like the sad sound of a harp. And I am hurting for Kir Hareseth.
12 And when the people in Moab come to their high place, they will become very tired. When they come to pray at their temple, nothing will happen.
13 Those are the words that the LORD has already spoken about Moab.
14 But now the LORD says, ‘In three years, everybody will laugh at Moab. Count these years like (the years that) people pay a worker. Then (God) will make all Moab’s many proud people humble. And only a few of them will remain, a very small number.’
1 (This is a) serious message (about) Damascus. Look! (The enemy) broke the city called Damascus into a lot of stones.
2 Nobody lives in the cities of Aroer. They have become (places) where groups (of animals) lie down. Nobody makes them afraid.
3 There are no strong cities in Ephraim and no kings in Damascus. The few people that remain in Aram are as great as the people of Israel! (This is what) the LORD of Many Armies is saying.
4 On that day the LORD removed the things that Jacob was proud of. His fat body became thin!
5 And it was like when a farmer got all the grain. He did it while it was still (in a field). With his arm he cut off the fruit from the plants. Then it was like when someone gleans some of the grain in the Valley of Rephaim.
6 There was not much in (Israel). It was like someone that hit an olive tree. There were only two or three small olives on the highest branch. And (there were only) 4 or 5 fruits on the branches of a fruit tree. (This is what) the LORD, the God of Israel, (is) saying.
7 On a day (like) that, people should obey their Maker. They should turn to the Holy One of Israel.
8 They should not think that the altars (can help them). Their hands have made (these altars). They should not turn to what their fingers have made. These are (images of the female god called) Asherah. And the altars (are where they burn) incense.
9 On that day, (Israel’s) strong cities became like empty cities. (They were like) those (other) empty forests and woods. People had left them when Israel (first attacked them). So (the cities) were empty groups of stones,
10 for these reasons. You forgot the God that made you safe. You did not remember the Rock that hid you (from danger). You planted gardens for a false god and you planted vines for a foreign god. 11 So, there were no fruits. On the day that you planted them, you caused them to grow well. They had flowers on the morning that you planted them! But all this finished in a day that was very sad. And (there was) pain that nothing could take away.
12 Oh, (listen)! (The people in) many countries are roaring. They are making a noise like an angry sea! And (listen)! The (people in those) countries are roaring, they are roaring like great amounts of water!
13 The (people in those) countries are roaring; they are roaring like great amounts of water! But when (the LORD) will shout at them, they will run far away. The wind will blow them away like dead bits of plants on the hills. Or it will blow them away like dirt that blows about before a storm.
14 Look! In the evening everyone is very much afraid. And in the morning nobody is there! This is what will happen to anyone that takes things from us. (It will happen to anyone who) robs us.
1 Oh! (There is) a country (where the) ships have wings. It is near the rivers of Cush.
2 It is sending messages by people in boats (that they) made from papyrus. They sail on the top of the waters. Go, take a message quickly. (Go to) a country where (the people) are tall. And their skins are not hairy. (It is a country where everyone), both near and far, is afraid of its people. The country is very strong and rivers cut the land into parts. 3 Everybody that lives (in the) world and (on the) earth, (listen to this). You will see a sign on the tops of the mountains. You will hear the sound of a trumpet.
4 This (is what) the LORD said to me. ‘I will watch quietly from my place. I will be as quiet as the heat that shines from the sun. (I will be as quiet as) the mist that rises at harvest time.’
5 Then, before the harvest, (the LORD) will cut off the new parts of the plants. He will use a special knife. He will cut off the wide branches and take them away. (He will do this) after the flowers have gone. But (he will do it) before the fruit is ready to pick.
6 (He) will leave them all for the birds that catch small animals in the mountains to eat. (He will leave them) to the wild animals on the land. The birds (will feed) on them all the summer. And the wild animals will (feed) on them all the winter.
7 At that time (people) brought gifts to the LORD of Many Armies. The people are tall and their skins are not hairy. Everyone both near and far is afraid of these people. The country is very strong, and rivers cut the land into parts. (They will come) to a place where the Name of the LORD of Many Armies is. It is a mountain called Zion.
1 (This is a) serious message (about) Egypt. 2 ‘I will cause Egypt’s men (to fight) against Egypt’s men. A man will fight against his brother. A man will fight against the man that lives near him. A city (will fight) against a city and a kingdom will fight against a kingdom.
3 (I will) pour out the spirit of Egypt from inside it. And I will confuse their plans. (So) they will ask (for help from) their false gods. And (they will ask for help from) the spirits of dead people, and from mediums and from wizards.
4 And I will give Egypt into the power of a cruel master. And a powerful king will rule over them.’ (This is what) the Lord, the LORD of Many Armies says.
5 And the waters of the sea will become dry. And the river will have no water and so it will become dry.
6 And the canals will have less (water) and they will have a bad smell. And the streams of Egypt will become dry. The reeds and the other plants that grow by the river will die.
7 (And) the plants at the side of the river (Nile) will die. And (the plants near) where the river goes into the sea (will die). Everything (that people) plant by the river will become dry. (The wind will) blow it away and (there will be) nothing there.
8 And the fishers will be very sad. Then, everyone that throws a bent piece of metal and a line into the river will cry. Also, those people that put something on the water to catch fish will have nothing (to eat).
9 The people that work with the flax will not know what to do. The women that comb (the flax) will not be happy. Neither will the men that make it into cloth (be happy).
10 This will destroy the spirit of the workers (in Egypt). Everyone that works for money (will feel) sick inside them.
11 The leaders of Zoan are really fools! The best people in Pharaoh’s government say that he must do silly things! You cannot say to Pharaoh, ‘I am a son of a man who knows nearly everything. (I am) a son of (someone who was) king a long time ago.’
12 Where, then, (Pharaoh), are your clever men? (Or, Pharaoh, you have no clever men!) Cause them to tell you now what they know. They know what the LORD of Many Armies will do against Egypt.
13 The leaders in Zoan have made themselves into fools. The leaders of Noph have confused each other. The leaders of (these) groups (of people) have caused Egypt to choose wrongly.
14 The LORD has mixed into the people (of Egypt) something that confuses their spirits. In everything that they do they choose wrongly.) They choose wrongly like a drunk that is being sick.
15 There is nothing that anybody in Egypt can do. They may be like a head or like a tail, a branch on a palm tree or a reed. (There is nothing that they can do.)
16 In that day the people in Egypt will be afraid, like women. They will be afraid when the LORD of Many Armies uses his power against them.
17 The (name of the) country called Judah will frighten the people in Egypt very much. When people say (the name Judah), they will be afraid of the LORD of Many Armies. They will be afraid of what he has decided to do against them.
18 In that day 5 cities in the country called Egypt will speak the language of Canaan. (The people in them) will promise to obey the LORD of Many Armies. One of the towns will be called Sun City.
19 In that day there will be an altar to the LORD in the middle of the country called Egypt. Also, (there will be) a tall stone to the LORD at the edge (of Egypt).
20 Those (two things) will be like notices to tell (everyone in) the country called Egypt about the LORD of Many Armies. (The people in Egypt) will pray to the LORD because other people are cruel to them. Then, this is what he will do. He will send someone to make them safe. And he will send a judge who will remove the danger from them.
21 And the LORD will know the people in Egypt. And also, the people in Egypt will know the LORD in that day. And they will worship (the LORD) and they will offer gifts to him. They will make promises to the LORD. And they will do what they have promised to do.
22 And (if) the LORD should send to Egypt a plague, he (really) will hurt them. But then he will make them well again. And then they will return to the LORD. And he will answer their prayers and he will make them well.
23 In that day there will be a road from Egypt to Assyria. (People from) Assyria will go to Egypt and (people from) Egypt will go to Assyria. People from Egypt and Assyria will worship together.
24 In that day Israel will be the third (country) with Egypt and Assyria. Good things will happen in the middle of the country.
25 The LORD of Many Armies will do good things for them. He will say, ‘I will do good things for my people Egypt, and Assyria, which I have made. And I will do good things for Israel that I have chosen.’
1 In the year (711 B.C.) (the man called the) Tartan came to Ashdod. (This was) when Sargon, the king of Assyria, sent him. He fought against Ashdod and he destroyed it.
2 In that time the LORD spoke by Isaiah the son of Amoz. (He) said, ‘Go and take the hairy clothes off your body and the shoes from your feet.’ And (Isaiah) did this. He walked about without clothes and without shoes.
3 And the LORD said, ‘My servant Isaiah walked without clothes and without shoes for three years. It was a message and a prophecy against Egypt and Cush.
4 This is what the king of Assyria (will do). He will take away (people) from Egypt as prisoners. And (he will take people) from Cush as exiles. Young people and old people will go. They will have no clothes or shoes. (People) will see their bottoms (where the backs of the legs and the body join). This will make the people in Egypt ashamed.
5 They will not be very happy and they will be ashamed. They had hoped that Cush (would help them). And they had said that Egypt (would help them also).
6 The people that live along this coast will say in that day, “Look! This happened to the people that we hoped (would help us). We went to them for help. (We did this) to get away from the king of Assyria. And now, we do not know how to get away (from him).” ’
1 (This is) a serious message about the desert near the sea. It comes from the desert. (It comes) from a frightening place. It is like a storm from the Negev desert. 2 I received a difficult message. The robber robs and the destroyer destroys. Elam, go up (to Babylon)! Media, attack (Babylon)! (The LORD says,) ‘I will stop (Babylon) crying.’
3 (All) this hurts me. Bad pains attack me. (They are) like the bad pains that a woman feels. (She feels them) when she has a baby. What I hear bends me over. And that is why I cannot listen. What I see frightens me. And that is why I cannot look.
4 It confuses my mind. I am very much afraid. I wanted a quiet evening. But now that quiet evening has become (a time) when I am very much afraid.
5 They prepare a special meal. They put down the carpets. They eat and drink. Officers, make your shields ready!
6 This is what the Lord said to me. ‘Go! And cause somebody to stand and to watch (what will happen). (Ask) him to report what he sees.
7 If he reports (one of these) then cause him to watch. 8 Then the man that watched shouted. (He said), ‘Lord, I am standing every day on a building (from which I can see everything). I am standing at my place every night.
9 And look! Someone is coming! (It is) a rider, (it is) a man with a pair of horses!’ (The man) reports and says this. ‘(An enemy) has destroyed Babylon! (The enemy) has destroyed it! All the images of its people’s gods lie in pieces on the ground!’
10 (Judah), they have hurt you. They have hurt you very much. (But) I have told you what I have heard from the LORD of Everything. (He is) the God of Israel. Words about Edom
11 (This is) a serious message about Dumah. Someone is shouting to me from Seir. (They are asking,) ‘Keeper, how much more of the night (is there)? Keeper, how much more of the night (is there)?’
12 The keeper said, ‘The morning will come, (but) so will the night. If you want to ask (again, then) come back. Come (and) ask!’ Words about Arabia
13 (This is) a serious message about Arabia. Caravans of people from Dedan, you will find a safe place (behind) the bushes in the wild country.
14 (There) you will give water to (people) who need a drink. People that live in Tema will give bread to the refugees.
15 (Do this) because they are running away from (all this): 16 This is what my Lord has said to me. ‘In less than a year, all the important people in Kedar will have gone. A servant (that someone has) paid counts a year. Count the year like that.
17 Only a few of the men that use bows (from the) soldiers of the men from Kedar will remain. (This will happen) because the LORD, the God of Israel, has spoken.’
1 (This is) a serious message about the Valley (in Jerusalem that Isaiah ‘saw’) in a vision. Something is the matter with you. You have all gone up on to the roofs of your houses! 2 (Your) city is full of noise. And (it is full of people that are) rushing about. The town is having a party! The sword did not kill the people that are dead. They did not die in a war.
3 (The enemy) caught all your leaders that ran away. (The enemy) did not have to use one bow. Some of them ran a long way away, but (the enemy) caught them all!
4 So I said, ‘Leave me alone! Let me cry the saddest tears. Do not try to make me happy, because (the enemy will) kill many of my people.
5 (This is) because my Lord, the LORD of Everything, will have a day of noise. (It will be) in the Valley of Vision (in Jerusalem). There will be feet that are running and (it will) confuse people. (The enemy) will destroy walls and people will shout (for help) to the hills.’
6 (People will say), ‘(People from) Elam carried baskets of arrows. (There were) men with chariots and horses and (soldiers from) Kir lifted up (their) shields.’
7 So your best valleys will be full of chariots and men on horses will attack (your city’s) gates.
8 (The LORD) will take away from Judah the place where its people hide themselves. So, in that day, you will look for arms in the House of the Forest (in Jerusalem).
9 You will see that there are many holes in the walls of the City of David. Also, you will get water from the Lower Pool.
10 Then you will count the houses in Jerusalem. And you will knock down the houses to make the walls (of Jerusalem) stronger.
11 You may have built a place inside the walls (of Jerusalem) to put water from the Old Pool. But you have not looked to its Maker. And you did not see the person that made plans for it long ago.
12 And in that day my Lord, the LORD of Everything, will ask for (people) to weep and to cry aloud. He will ask them to cut the hair off their heads. Also, they must wear hairy clothes.
13 But look! (Everybody is) happy, they are very happy. They are killing cows and sheep. They will eat meat and drink. (They are saying,) ‘We will eat and drink, because tomorrow we will die.’
14 But this is what the LORD of Everything has told me. ‘(I will) certainly not excuse this sin until you (all) die.’ (This is what) my Lord, the LORD of Everything said. 15 This (is what) my Lord, the LORD of Everything, said. (He said,) ‘Stand up and go to this (man) Shebna. He has authority in (the king’s) house.
16 (Say to him,) “You should not be here. (God did not say) that you (could be) here. You have cut (in the rock) here for yourself a tomb. You have cut a tomb in the side of the hill. You have cut for yourself a place in the rock to put your dead body.
17 Look! The LORD will throw you; he will throw you (away, you) strong man! (First) he will hold on to you in his strong hand.
18 (Then) he will make you like a ball; he will make you like a ball. (Then he will) throw you like a ball into a wide country. You will die there. (There) your great chariots will make your master’s family ashamed.”
19 I will remove you from your job. And he will throw you down from the place where you are an officer.’ 20 ‘And this is what will happen in that day. I will tell my servant Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah that he must come.
21 And I will put on him your (Shebna’s) special clothes and I will tie your special belt round him. And I will give him your authority. Then he (Eliakim) will become (like) a father to everyone that lives in Jerusalem and to the people of Judah.
22 And I will put the key of the family of David on his shoulder. What he opens, nobody will close. What he closes, nobody will open.
23 And I will fix him in place (like a) strong bent piece of metal. And he will make his father’s house famous.
24 But the whole weight of his father’s family will hang on him (like that piece of metal). All his children and their children, like cups and bottles that contain things, (will hang on him).’
25 (This is what) the LORD of Everything says: ‘In that day the bent piece of metal that (they) fixed strongly, will not hold. (I will) cut it down and it will fall. And the weight on it will fall off because the LORD has spoken (it).’
1 (This is) a serious message about Tyre. 2 Weep, (you people) that live on the island. (Weep, you) merchants of Sidon, that the sailors made rich.
3 Grain came from the River Nile on the great seas. The fruits from the River Nile brought money (to Phoenicia). So it became a market place for (many) countries.
4 (You people that live in) Sidon, be ashamed. (Be ashamed,) because the sea has spoken. The power of the sea, (Tyre), has said, ‘I have not been in labour. (Children) have not been born. I have not had sons nor been a parent to daughters.’
5 When (the people in) Egypt receive the news, they will be in much pain at the report from Tyre.
6 Cross over to Tarshish! Cry aloud, you people that live on the island.
7 (This is) the city where you had many parties. It is old, very old. (Now) their feet have taken its people to live in countries that are far away.
8 People do not know who made these plans against Tyre. (Tyre is the city that) gives crowns (to people). Its merchants are like kings. Its merchants are famous in (all) the world.
9 The LORD of Everything thought that he should do this. (He did not want) people to feel more important than they were. And (he wanted) to cause all the famous people in the world not to feel important. (That is why he did it.)
10 Travel through your country, people in Tarshish, as (easily as the people in Egypt travel along) the River Nile. (Travel) because now, nobody will stop you.
11 The LORD has lifted his hand over the sea. He made kingdoms afraid. He told (his armies) what they must do in Phoenicia. (They had to) destroy all (Phoenicia’s) strong buildings.
12 Then he said, ‘Do not continue your parties. (The enemy) has destroyed you, you people that live in Sidon. Get up! Cross over to Cyprus. Even there you will not find rest for yourself.’
13 Look at the country called Babylon! Its people are all dead! The (armies) from Assyria made it a place for wild animals (to live in). They (the men from Assyria) built small mountains (of earth that they climbed on) to attack it. They took everything away from its strong buildings and they destroyed (Babylon).
14 Cry aloud, you ships of Tarshish. (Your enemy) has destroyed your strong port.
15 At that time (people will) forget Tyre for 70 years. This is how long one king lives. At the end of 70 years something will happen to Tyre. It is like the song about the prostitute.
16 ‘Prostitute that (people) have forgotten, 17 At the end of 70 years the LORD will be kind to Tyre. It will ‘become a prostitute’ again! (This means that) its merchants will go to all the kingdoms of the world on the earth.
18 And this will happen: All the money that (Tyre) gets and all the profit will go to the LORD. (Tyre) will not hide it or store it. Rather, the profit (will go) to the people that live near the LORD. (They will have) plenty of food and good clothes. About Isaiah chapters 24-27 1 Understand (this)! The LORD will make the country empty and he will destroy it. He will destroy the ground. And he will move the people that live in it in all directions.
2 It will be the same for (all these people): 3 (Enemies) will completely destroy the land. (They) will take everything from it. The LORD says that (this will happen). (So it will happen.)
4 The land will be dry and it will die. The world will become weak and it will die. The important people in the country will become weak.
5 The people that live in the country have made it dirty. (This happened) for these reasons: 6 That is why a curse is destroying the country. And the people that live in it are hurting. This is because they have done wrong things. (Something) burns the people that live in the country. Only a few of them remain.
7 The wine dries up and the vine dies. The people that want to drink (the wine) are not happy.
8 The happy sound of the tambourine stops. The noise from parties has finished. The harp does not make any happy music.
9 People do not sing while they drink wine. The beer does not taste nice to those that drink it.
10 (Enemies) have destroyed the city (so that) it is without shape. (People) locked every house so that (the enemy) could not get in.
11 People shout for wine in the streets. Everybody that is happy becomes sad. Nobody in the country laughs.
12 (Enemies) have destroyed the city. (They) knocked down the gates (of the city) and they destroyed them.
13 This will happen through all the country and among (other) countries. They will be empty like an olive tree that people hit. Or (they will be empty like a vine) with a few grapes (that people have) not picked. The song of the few people that remain (verses 14-16a)
14 These (are the people) that use their voices to shout aloud! From (the sea in) the west they say that the LORD is great!
15 So, in (the countries in) the east give praise to the LORD. (Give praise) to the LORD God of Israel. (Give praise) from the islands in the sea.
16 From every part of the country we hear songs that give praise to the Righteous One. Isaiah’s sad song (verses 16b-23) 17 People in the country, terror, a big hole in the ground and a trap will kill you!
18 The person that runs away from the sound of terror will fall into the big hole. A trap will catch the person that climbs out of the big hole. (It will happen) because (someone has) opened the windows of the sky. Also, (they have) moved what is under the land.
19 All this has completely broken the land. It has torn the land into pieces. It has moved the land very much.
20 The earth walks like a man that is a drunk. It moves about like a tent (in the wind). The wrong things that (the people in the country) have done feel heavy upon the country. So it will be like someone who falls down. And it will be like someone who never gets up again.
21 On that day the LORD will punish (anything with) power in the skies above. And (he will punish) the kings on the land below.
22 (The LORD) will bring them together like prisoners in a hole in the ground. He will lock them in a prison and after a long time he will punish them.
23 The white (light of the moon) will disappear. And the heat (of the sun) will become cold. (This is) because the LORD of Everything will be king on the hill called Zion. Then, his leaders in Jerusalem will see that he is very great.
1 LORD, you are my God and I will give you praise. I will say that you are very great. And I will give praise to your name, because you have done wonderful things. You said long ago what you would do. And you have done it. (You were) honest and (your promises) were true.
2 And you have broken the city into a hill (of stones). (You have) destroyed the strong city. The strong city that foreign people (live in) has gone. Nobody will build it again. 3 So, a strong country will give you praise. The city in a cruel country will be afraid of you.
4 (This is) because you (LORD) have made (your) poor people safe. (You have) made safe the people that needed (help) in their trouble. (You) hid them from the storm (and you were their) shade from the heat. The attack of the cruel people was like a storm that knocked against a wall.
5 (And the storm was) like heat in a dry sandy place. You, (LORD), stopped the noise of the foreigners. The shade of a cloud makes less the heat (of the sun). In the same way, you took away the songs of the enemies. They thought that they had beaten us. (That is why they sang.)
6 The LORD of Everything will make a feast for all people upon this mountain (in Jerusalem). It will be a feast of the very best meat, a feast with the very best wine. (It will be a feast) of the very best meat that makes people strong. It will be a feast with the best wines.
7 And on this mountain (the LORD) will destroy the shroud that covers all people. It is a shroud that is over every country
8 He will destroy death for always. The LORD, my master, will dry the faces of everyone that has tears (in their eyes). People will not feel ashamed again, over all the earth. This is what the LORD has promised to do. 9 On that day they will say, ‘Look! This is our God! We have waited for him to come and to make us safe. This is the LORD! We have waited for him. So we shall be happy, very happy, because he has saved us.’
10 The power of the LORD will stay on this mountain. And he will walk on the people from Moab as people walk on dead grass and animal dirt.
11 And (the people from Moab) will put their hands into it. (They will be) like someone that puts out (his hands) to swim. But they will go down deep in the water, even if they are able (to swim) with their hands.
12 And (the LORD) will knock down their high, strong walls. He will throw them down. He will make them low and he will turn them into small bits of dry dirt on the ground.
1 In that day, (people) will sing this song in the country called Judah. 2 Open the gates (of the city), so that the righteous people can come in. (The righteous people) are those people that continue to believe (the LORD).
3 You, (LORD), will make safe the person whose mind is always thinking about you. (You will keep him) safe, because he believes you.
4 Always, always believe the LORD! (Do this) because the LORD, the LORD is a (like a) Rock. He will always be alive.
5 He brings down low the people that live in high places, in a city on tall (hills). He makes it low. He brings it down to the ground. He throws it into the dirt.
6 Feet will walk on it. The feet of the poor people and of the weak people (will walk over it).
7 The path that righteous people walk on is flat. You, (LORD), make clear the way of righteous people.
8 Yes, LORD, we wait for you in the path that your rules (point us to). In our minds, we want (everybody to know) your name. And (we want everybody to know) that you are famous.
9 My mind wants you in the night time and my spirit wants you in the morning. The people in the world will learn what ‘righteous’ means. (This will happen) when you are ruling in the country.
10 Bad people will not learn, if nobody punishes them. (They will not learn) what ‘righteous’ means. In a country where people are honest, (bad people) will continue to do bad things. They do not obey the rules of the LORD.
11 LORD, you have lifted up your hand (to hit them), but they do not see it. (But one day) they will see that you really love your people. Then, I pray that they will become ashamed. I pray that fire will burn up your enemies.
12 LORD, you will keep us safe. Really, all that we have done, you have done on our behalf.
13 LORD, our God, other lords than you have ruled over us. But only to your name do we give praise.
14 Now (the other lords) are dead. They are not alive. Their spirits have gone and they will not rise up (again). You punished them and you killed them. You have done it, so that we do not remember them.
15 LORD, you have made the country larger. You really have made the country larger. You have received praise for yourself. You have made all the edges of the country bigger.
16 LORD, they came to you when they had trouble. They prayed quietly to you when you punished them.
17 LORD, we were with you, like a woman who would soon have a baby. Just before she had her baby (we were like her). We could not keep still and we cried with the pain.
18 We were going to have a baby. We could not keep still and we cried with the pain. But we gave birth only to wind! We have not made the earth safe. We have not killed the people in the world.
19 But your dead (people) will live (again). Their bodies will rise up (from the grave). Wake up! Shout because you are so happy, you (people) that live in the ground! (Shout), because your dew is like the dew of the morning. The earth will give birth to the dead (people) in it.
20 My people, go into your rooms and shut the doors behind you. Hide yourselves for a short time, until (the LORD) is not angry.
21 Look, the LORD is coming out of his house. He will punish the people on the earth because they have not obeyed him. The earth will show (him) the blood (that people) poured out on it. It will not hide any longer the (dead) bodies (that people have) killed.
1 In that day the LORD will punish Leviathan. (The LORD will use) his sword. (His sword is) great, powerful and strong. (Leviathan is) a snake that moves quickly (in the sea). (It is) a snake that puts itself (round things). He will kill that great animal in the sea. God will guard his people
2 ‘In that day, sing about a field where vines are growing. It is full of fruit!
3 I, the LORD, will guard it. I will continue to put water on it. I will guard it night and day, so that nobody will destroy it.
4 I am not angry. If there was a thorn or a briar (in my field of vines), I would march against it in a war. I would make fire out of (the thorns and briars).
5 Or (the field) should come to me. I will make it safe. It should not fight with me. It should rest with me.
6 The days will come when Jacob will grow (like a plant) in the ground. Israel will grow and make flowers. They will fill all the world with fruit.’ God has a purpose when he punishes people
7 (The LORD) has hit (those enemies) that hit (his people). He has hit (his people) like that. (The LORD) has killed (those enemies). He has killed (his people) like that.
8 (LORD) you fought (against your people). You sent them into exile. He made them go with a cruel wind. It was like a day when the east wind blows.
9 This, then, is how Jacob will be sorry because of his sins. And this will be the result when (God) has taken away (Jacob’s) sin completely. (The LORD) will break all the altar stones to pieces like chalk stones. (He will) not leave the Asherah poles or incense altars standing.
10 Then the strong city will be empty. Everybody that lived there will leave it. It will be like a dry sandy place. Nobody will go there. Young cows will eat the grass and they will lie down there. They will eat everything on the branches (of the trees).
11 When their branches become dry, people will break them off (the trees). The women will come and make fires with them. (This will happen) because these people do not understand things. So, their Maker will not help them. Also, their Creator will not be kind to them.
12 And in that day (this) will happen. The LORD will pick (fruit) from the River (Euphrates) to the stream of Egypt. So (the LORD) will fetch you one by one, (you) sons of Israel. 13 And in that day (this) will happen. (Someone) will make a sound on a great trumpet. And people that are dying in the country called Assyria will come. Also, people in exile in the country called Egypt (will come). They will worship the LORD in the mountain at Jerusalem.
1 (There will be a) very sad (day in) Ephraim! The leaders (of Ephraim) are very proud, (but they) are drunks. (Ephraim is like) a beautiful flower, but it will die. It will not always be beautiful. (Ephraim) is at the top of a valley where there are good plants. But wine causes (its people) to fall over.
2 Look! The Lord has (somebody who is) powerful and strong. He is like a storm of ice (from the skies) and (he is like) a wind that destroys (things). (He is) like a storm of rain with a great amount of water. He will throw (Ephraim) to the ground with (his) hands! 3 (His) feet will walk on the proud leaders. These (leaders) are the drunks of Ephraim.
4 And (Ephraim) will be like a (fruit called a) fig. It is ready to eat when they pick it. When someone sees it, he will pick it. And he will eat it! (This Ephraim is like) a beautiful flower. But it will die, and it will not be beautiful. It is at the top of a valley. Good plants are there.
5 In that day the LORD of Everything will be a wonderful leader. And (he will be) a beautiful ruler for his people that remain (in their country).
6 (The LORD) will help people to decide what is right. He will make the people strong who guard their city.
7 But wine also causes most (people in Jerusalem) to fall down. And beer makes them into drunks. Beer causes priest and prophet to fall over. And wine confuses (their minds). Beer causes them to fall over. And when they see visions they cannot understand them. They become silly when they decide what to do.
8 They are sick over all their tables. And there is nowhere that is not dirty.
9 (They say,) ‘He is teaching what he knows (to us)! He is explaining his message (to us)! (He thinks that we are babies!) (And he thinks that) we have just stopped drinking milk! (He thinks that) we have just come from (our mother’s) breast!
10 (It sounds like,) “Tsaw latsaw tsaw latsaw; qaw laqaw qaw laqaw; zeir sham, zeir sham.” ’
11 So, with foreign lips and a strange language (God) spoke to this people.
12 He said to (this people), ‘This (is your) place to rest. Let the tired (people) rest.’ And (he said), ‘This (is your) place to be quiet in.’ But they would not listen.
13 So then, the LORD’s message will sound to them like, ‘Tsaw latsaw tsaw latsaw, qaw laqaw qaw laqaw, zeir sham, zeir sham.’ So they will go, but they will fall over. (An enemy) will hurt them, and he will catch them in a trap.
14 So, listen to the LORD’s message. (Hear it), you people that laugh in a bad way (at me). And (obey it), you rulers of this people in Jerusalem.
15 What you are really saying (is this). ‘We have made a covenant with death and we have agreed with Sheol. When the waters rise, they cannot touch us. (This is) because we believe in lies. And what is not true will keep us safe.’
16 So the Lord, (who is) LORD, says, ‘Look! It is I who has put a stone in Zion. (People now know) that this is a good stone. (It is) a valuable stone, because (it makes) the corners (of buildings). (It is) a strong stone to build on. The person that believes (in the LORD) will never be sorry.
17 If you do what is right and fair, I may be able to help you. (But if not), the rain of ice will carry away the lies that you believe. And water will pour into your safe place.
18 (I will) stop your covenant with death. What you agree with Sheol will not continue. When the water rises, it will pour over (you). (It will drown) you.
19 Every time that it comes to you, it will carry you away. Certainly, every morning, any day and any night, it might pour over you. And, if you understand the message, then you will be very much afraid.’
20 (You know what people say.) ‘The bed is so short that you cannot lie in it. The blanket is so narrow that you cannot put it round yourself.’
21 But the LORD will do something, like he did at Mount Perazim. He will be very angry, as he was in the Valley of Gibeon. He will do something that is very strange. He will do something that is not usual.
22 So, do not laugh in a bad way (at me). (If you do), your chains will be even heavier. The Lord, the LORD of Everything, told me that (he has) decided to destroy all the land.
23 Listen and hear my voice! Listen (to me). And hear what I am saying!
24 When the farmer ploughs to plant (seeds), he does not plough every day. He does not always break his ground into small pieces.
25 When he has made the ground flat, he plants carraway and cummin. He plants all the different grain seeds in their own places (in his field).
26 His God teaches him and (his God) tells him the right (thing) to do.
27 (Farmers) do not remove carraway (seeds) with a special machine. Nor do they get cummin seeds like this. They hit carraway (seeds) and cummin (seeds) with a stick.
28 (But they do use) a special machine to get (grain) to make bread. But they do not do it for too long. (The farmer) does not drive the wheels of the special machine over (the grain). And his horses do not walk on it.
29 The LORD of Everything causes them to know all this. What he tells them to do is wonderful. And his wisdom is great.
1 (There will be a) very sad (day in) Ariel. Ariel (is) the city that David attacked. Continue to have your usual feasts every year.
2 But I will bring trouble to Ariel. And (Ariel) will not be happy. It will be very sad. And (Ariel) will be my ariel, (my fire place).
3 And I will do (these things): (My army will) attack you. (They will be) in a circle round you. (I will) put an army against you on every side. (I will) build things against you to attack you.
4 Then you will become humble and you will speak from the ground. And, from low in the dirt, what you say will be difficult to hear. And your voice will come from the ground like (the voice of) the spirit of a dead person. And from the dirt, you will speak very quietly.
5 But your enemies will become like many small bits of dirt. And the crowds of cruel (soldiers) will be like dead bits of a plant in the wind. (This is) because, in a moment,
6 the LORD of Everything will visit you! (It will be like) thunder, or when the ground moves. (It will be like) a very loud noise. (It will be like) a very strong wind and a great storm. And (it will be like) a fire that burns up everything.
7 This will happen to all the many countries that attack Ariel. (It will happen to) everyone that fights against it and its strongest building. (It will happen to) all (the soldiers) that are in a circle round it. They will be like a dream that people see in the night!
8 It will be like a hungry man who dreams. (He dreams) that he is eating (something). But, look! He wakes up hungry! Or it will be like a thirsty man. He dreams that he is drinking. But, look! He wakes up and look! He is still weak because he is still thirsty! This will happen to the many (soldiers) from all the countries that fight against the hill called Zion.
9 (This will) hit you (so that you become) like fools. And you will not believe it! You will become blind, so that you cannot see anything! You will become drunks, but not from wine! You will fall over, but not (because you have drunk) beer!
10 (But it is) because the LORD has caused you to go into a deep sleep. He has shut the eyes of your prophets and he has covered the heads of your seers.
11 And all this vision is for you. (It is) the words in a closed book. Give the book to someone that can read. And say (to them), ‘Read this, please.’ But he will answer, ‘I cannot (read it, because) someone shut it.’
12 Or, give the book to someone that cannot read. Say, ‘Read it, please.’ But he will answer, ‘I do not know how to read.’
13 The Lord says, ‘These people pray to me with their mouths. And their lips say that I am important. But their hearts are far from me. And to worship me they use rules that men have made.’ 14 ‘So look! I will surprise these people again. (I will) surprise (them) again and again! (Some) people are able to use what they know rightly. But they will not be able to. The people with good minds will not be able to use them.’
15 (There will be a) very sad (day) for those people who (do these things): 16 You turn things the wrong way up! You confuse the person who makes pots with the clay! The thing that somebody made cannot say to its maker, ‘You did not make me!’ The pot cannot say to the person who makes pots, ‘You do not know anything!’
17 In a very short time, (the country called) Lebanon will become a garden of fruit trees. And Carmel will be like a forest.
18 At that time, people who were not able to hear will hear someone read words from a book. And people who were not able to see will see. And they will not remain in shadows and in the dark.
19 And the LORD will make humble people happy again. And the poor people will sing songs to the Holy (God) of Israel, because they are so happy.
20 (This is) because cruel people will go. People that laugh in a bad way (at God) will not appear anywhere. And (the LORD) will kill everybody that is preparing to do bad things.
21 These (bad) people (do these things): 22 So this is what the LORD says to the house of Jacob. (He is the LORD) who saved Abraham. ‘Jacob will not be ashamed again. And his face will never lose colour (because he is afraid).
23 They will see their children, which my hands made, among them. Then they will keep my name holy. They will praise the Holy (God) of Jacob and they will show great love for the God of Israel.
24 Also, people whose minds are confused will understand (things). (Some) people always say that something is wrong. Then, they will be happy to learn (things).’
1 ‘(It is) a very sad (day) for children who do not obey (their father)’, says the LORD. ‘They have decided what to do, but they did not ask me (about it). They have decided to agree (with Egypt), but without my Spirit’s (help). They have done more and more sins as a result.
2 They hurry to go down to Egypt. But they do not ask me what to do. They ask for Pharaoh’s help to make them safe. And they look for the shadow of Egypt to cover them.
3 But Pharaoh’s help will make you ashamed. And you will not receive help in Egypt’s shadow.
4 Their leaders have arrived in Zoan and their people with authority have gone to Hanes. 5 Everyone will be ashamed because the people (in Egypt) will not be able to help them. They will not bring any help to you. (They will) not really (bring to you) any help. (They will) only (make you) very much more ashamed.’
6 (These are) sad (words) about the animals (that go through) the Negev. It is a place where there is trouble and danger. (These wild animals live) there: 7 Egypt has no value. They will not send any help. So, I call (Egypt) ‘Rahab’ or ‘She shouts while she does not move’.
8 Now go! Write it down on a piece of stone for them. Also, write it in a book. Then, in future days, it will always be there to read.
9 These (people) are people that do not obey (the LORD). They are his children and they disappoint (him). They are children that do not want to listen to the LORD’s words.
10 They say to the seers, ‘Do not see anything!’ And (they say) to the prophets, ‘Do not tell us what is the right (thing to do). Tell us nice things. Say what is not true!
11 Leave this path. Get off this road. Do not hold the Holy (God) of Israel in front of us.’
12 So, this is what the Holy (God) of Israel says. You have not listened when my word told you about the danger. And you thought that it was right to be cruel to people. And you have believed in lies.
13 So this will happen. This sin will be for you like a high wall that is not safe. It will bend over, and in a moment, it will fall down.
14 He (the LORD) will break it into pieces as (easily as someone breaks) a piece of pot. He will destroy it, and he will not feel kind about it. There will not be a (big) piece (of pot) among the bits. It cannot lift a stick that is burning from a fire. It cannot bring water from a pool.
15 Now this is what the Lord said, the LORD (who is) the Holy (God) of Israel: ‘You will be safe if you return (from Egypt) and rest. Be quiet and believe (in God). Then you will be strong. But you would not (listen).’
16 But you said, ‘No! We will run away on horses.’ So you will run away. (You said) ‘We will ride away very quickly.’ So the people that run after you will move quickly.
17 A thousand (1000) (of you will run away) from only one enemy. You will (all) run away from 5 of them! They will leave you like a sign on the top of the mountain, or like a flag on a hill. God is kind and fair
18 So the LORD will wait (before) he is kind to you. So, also, (one day) he will start to show you his great love (for you). (It is) because the LORD is a fair God. He will make everyone that waits for him very happy.
19 Yes! You people of Zion that live in Jerusalem, you will not weep again. (The LORD) will be very kind to you when you shout for help. When he hears you, he will answer you.
20 (In the past) the Lord has given you trouble as your bread and he has given you pain as your water. But then your Teacher will not hide himself from you. You will see him with your own eyes.
21 And your ears will hear a word near you, but behind you. When you turn to the right or to the left it will say, ‘This is the way. Walk in it.’
22 And you will not use your idols. You cut them from wood with a knife. Then you covered them with silver. You will not use your idols that you made from metal. You covered them with gold. You will throw them away like dirty things. You will say to them, ‘Go!’
23 He (the LORD) will send rain for your seeds that you plant in the ground. And plenty of good food will come from the ground. In that day your cows will eat (grass) in wide fields.
24 And the cows and the horses that work (on) the ground will eat the best food for animals. (Farmers) will use a big farm fork and a spade to give it to them.
25 And on every tall mountain and on every high hill, water will pour down in streams. (This will happen) on the day when high buildings fall. And many people will die.
26 Also, the moon will shine as bright as the sun. And the light of the sun will be 7 times brighter. It will be like the light of 7 days (at the same time)! This will happen when the LORD puts soft cloths on his people. He will put the cloths where (the LORD) hit them hard. And he will make them better where he hurt them.
27 Look! The LORD himself is coming from far away. There is fire in his nose and smoke like thick clouds (are all round him). His lips show that he is angry. His tongue eats things like a fire (burns them).
28 From his mouth (comes something) that is like a lot of water. It will reach up to (someone’s) neck. He moves (many) countries to make them separate and to destroy them. And he (will be like a man who) puts a bit in (horses’) mouths, to lead them away.
29 And you, (my people,) will sing! It will be like the night when there is a big party for everyone in your church. You will feel very happy inside you! It will be like when people go up to the LORD’s (temple). There will be music. (Another name for the LORD) is the Rock of Israel.
30 Then the LORD will cause people to hear his voice. (It will be) like the voice of a great king! He will cause (people) to see his arm when it comes down (to hit them). He will cause people to know that he is very, very angry. (He will be like) a fire that burns everything. (He will be like) a cloud that drops (much rain). (He will be like) a storm that makes a lot of noise. (He will drop like) bits of ice.
31 The voice of the LORD will completely destroy Assyria. He will knock them down with his stick to show to everybody that he is a king.
32 He will hit them with his stick. He will use his stick to punish them. It will sound like the music of harps and tambourines while the LORD fights them in a war. (He will use) his arms to hit them.
33 (The LORD) has already made (the fire called) Topheth ready. He prepared it for the king (of Assyria). The hole in the ground for the fire is deep and wide. There is plenty of wood for the fire. The air from the LORD’s mouth will light the fire. (The air) is like a stream of sulphur that is on fire.
1 (It will be) a sad (day) for those people that go down to Egypt. They want help and horses (from Egypt). They think that chariots will help them. (This is) because there are very many (chariots in Egypt). And (they hope for help from) men that ride on horses. (This is) because these (men) are very strong. And they do not ask the Holy (God) of Israel for help. And they do not ask LORD to tell them what to do.
2 But (the LORD) knows the best thing to do. Also, he can kill people. He does not change what he says. And he will do something against the people that do bad things. (And he will do something against) those people that help people to do bad things.
3 The men in Egypt are (only) men. They are not God. Their horses are animals, not spirits. When the LORD puts out his hand, the helper will fall down. And the person that he helps will fall down too. They will all come to an end together.
4 This is what the LORD said to me. ‘The LORD of Everything will come down to fight on the mountain of Zion and on its hill. He will make a noise like a lion or a young lion. It makes noises over what it has caught. He will not be afraid of the group of sheep farmers when they come out against (the lion).’ 5 The LORD of Everything will make Jerusalem safe. He will fly round it like a bird. He will make it safe, and he will make it free. He will pass over it and he will save it. 6 People of Israel, turn (back) to him. You have caused him to feel very sick and ill.
7 (Turn back to him) because in that day everyone must throw away their gold and silver idols. Your hands made them for you, which was wrong.
8 A sword will kill the man from Assyria. A man will not do it. And a sword, that is not held by a man, will kill him. And (he) will run from the sword. And it will cause his young men always to do difficult work. 9 ‘The (king of Assyria), (who is like) their rock, will run away. (He will run away) because he is so afraid. And his (army) leaders will run away because they are all afraid of the war flag.’ This is what the LORD says. His fire is in Zion and his ariel is in Jerusalem.
1 A king will be a good judge. And leaders will be fair judges. Think about those things. 2 Then each (ruler) will be like a place to hide from the wind. And he will be like someone who covers us from the storm. (He will be) like streams of water in a dry place. And he will be like the shadow of a big rock in very dry land. 5 Then they will not again call a fool clever. They will not say that a cheat is honest.
6 What a fool says is silly and his mind thinks about bad (things): 7 The things that a cheat does are bad. They cause people to believe what is not true. Also, his ideas are bad. (He decides) to hurt poor people. What he says about them is not true. And he gives false reasons, even when (the poor) people speak the truth. (They are people) who need (help).
8 But a good person wants (to do) good things. Also, he does the good things that he promised to do. An enemy (Assyria) will attack you before your good king comes
9 You women that have no problems, get ready. Listen to my voice. You ladies that feel so safe, hear my words (to you).
10 In less than a year, you (women) that feel so safe will worry. (You will worry) because the grape harvest will fail. The harvest of fruit will not happen.
11 Shake, you women that have no problems. Be afraid, (you ladies) that feel so safe. Take off (your clothes) so that you are wearing nothing. Then put a cloth about the tops of your legs.
12 Hit your breasts for these (reasons). (There are no) good fields. The vine has no fruit. 13 The ground where our people work gives (only) thorns (and) briars. Also, (this is) because (there are no) happy homes in the happy city.
14 It is a fact that (the king) will go from his beautiful house. The city where many people live will be empty. The hill (in Jerusalem) and the tall building, where people watch (for enemies), will always be homes for animals. (They will be) a happy place for wild horses (to live in), and fields where groups (of animals feed).
15 (This will happen) until (God) pours his Spirit on us from above (the earth). Then, the wild places will become gardens and the gardens will become forests.
16 Then (people) will decide fairly in the wild places. And (they will say) good things in the fields that contain plenty of fruit.
17 And when people do good things, there will be no war. When people do good things there will be a quiet and safe life. It will continue for a long time.
18 My people will live in a place where there is no war. Their homes will be safe and they will sleep without pain. 1 It will be very sad for you, the country that destroys (other countries). But no (other country) has destroyed you, yet. (It will be sad for) you, the country that is not honest (with other countries). But no (other country) has not been honest with you yet. When you stop destroying (other countries, one of them) will destroy you. When you stop not being honest (with other countries,) they will not be honest with you.
2 LORD, be kind to us. We look to you for help. Make us strong every day. Save us when trouble happens.
3 At the sound of a voice, people run away. When you go to war, (the people in other) countries run away.
4 People get things together (after a war), as a locust gets (food). As locusts rush (to their food), so people rush (to those things).
5 The LORD is more important (than anyone else). He lives high above (the earth). He will fill Zion with fair answers to questions. And (everybody will do) what is right.
6 He will make your lives safe and you will keep your money. Here are the valuable things that he gives (to you): 7 Look! The brave men (from Jerusalem) weep in the streets. Officers went (to Assyria). They asked for the war to stop. Now they cry very sad tears.
8 The important roads are empty and nobody travels on the smaller roads. (The enemy) stopped the covenant. He does not like the cities and he does not love anyone.
9 The land itself is very sad and it is becoming dry. Lebanon is ashamed and it is dying. Sharon is like a sandy place and the leaves in Bashan and Carmel are dying.
10 The LORD says, ‘Now will I stand up. Now I will lift myself up. Now I will raise myself up.
11 You make dry grass and you call it straw. Your own breath will destroy you as fire (burns up that dry grass).
12 (It) will burn the bones of people to make lime. They will burn as easily as thorn bushes, (when people) cut them down.
13 You people (that are) far away, listen. Listen to what I have done! And you people (that are) near, understand. Understand that I am very powerful.’
14 The sinners (that live) in Zion are afraid. (Some) people are not clean (as God sees them). (They are also) afraid. (They ask this.) ‘Which of us can live with a fire that burns everything? Which of us can live with a fire that will never stop burning?’
15 (The answer is) the person that (is like this): 16 (That person) will be the person that lives on high places. That person’s safe place will be in the rocks. People like that will always have food and their drink will not stop.
17 Your eyes will see that the king is beautiful. (Your eyes) will see a country that reaches to far away.
18 Your mind will think about when were afraid. (You will say,) ‘The (enemy) officer who counted (things) has gone! (The man who) weighed (everything) has gone! (The man who) counted high buildings has gone!’
19 You will never see those cruel people again. They speak words that are difficult to understand. Their language is strange. It is difficult to understand it.
20 Look at Zion. It is the city where we have our parties. Your eyes will see Jerusalem. It is a place where there is no war. It is (like) a tent that people will never remove. They will never pull up its pegs. They will never break any of its ropes.
21 It is there (in Jerusalem) that the LORD will be our powerful (God). It will be (like) a place with wide rivers and streams. No boat that men push along will go on them. No great ship will sail on them.
22 The LORD is our judge. The LORD gives us our rules. The LORD is our king. It is (the LORD) that will make us safe.
23 The ropes on your ship hang down. The wood that they hang from is not safe. They have not put the sail up. Then people will have the many things (that they took from their enemies). And even people who cannot walk well will carry away something!
24 Nobody that lives in Zion will say, ‘I am ill.’ And (God will not) punish people that live there again. About Isaiah chapters 34 and 35 1 Come near (to me), you (people in all) countries, and listen (to me). 2 Yes! The LORD is (right to be) angry against every country.1
2
3
The problems of the people in Judah and Israel
4
5
God punishes his people
The song of the vineyard
The wrong things that the people in Jerusalem and Judah have done
God will send a message to another nation from far away to punish His people
6
7
King Ahaz refuses to ask God for a message
8
God will use Assyria to destroy Israel and Syria
9
Good news for God’s people
10
11
The good king, called the Branch, that God will send
12
Isaiah’s psalm (or song to God)
13
God will destroy Babylon
14
A few words about Israel
15
Words about Moab
16
More about Moab
17
Words about Damascus
18
Words about Cush
19
Words about Egypt
20
Words about Egypt and Cush
21
Words about Babylon
22
Words about Jerusalem
Words about the city itself
Words about one of the leaders in Jerusalem called Shebna
Words about another leader, called Eliakim
23
Words about Tyre
24
Things that will happen to bad people
25
A song that gives praise to God, because God killed the enemies
26
Another song that gives praise to God
27
28
A sad song about Ephraim
29
A sad song about Ariel
30
A sad song for those who want to join with Egypt
31
God’s help is better than help from Egypt
32
God promises that his people will have a good king
33
Another sad song
34
God punishes the people in Edom