1 I am Isaiah, the son of Amoz. And this is the message that I was given about Judah and Jerusalem when Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah were the kings of Judah:
2 The LORD has said, "Listen, heaven and earth! The children I raised have turned against me.
3 Oxen and donkeys know who owns and feeds them, but my people won't ever learn."
4 Israel, you are a sinful nation loaded down with guilt. You are wicked and corrupt and have turned from the LORD, the holy God of Israel.
5 Why be punished more? Why not give up your sin? Your head is badly bruised, and you are weak all over.
6 From your head to your toes there isn't a healthy spot. Bruises, cuts, and open sores go without care or oil to ease the pain.
7 Your country lies in ruins; your towns are in ashes. Foreigners and strangers take and destroy your land while you watch.
8 Enemies surround Jerusalem, alone like a hut in a vineyard or in a cucumber field.
9 Zion would have disappeared like Sodom and Gomorrah, if the LORD All-Powerful had not let a few of its people survive.
10 You are no better than the leaders and people of Sodom and Gomorrah! So listen to the LORD God:
11 "Your sacrifices mean nothing to me. I am sick of your offerings of rams and choice cattle; I don't like the blood of bulls or lambs or goats.
12 "Who asked you to bring all this when you come to worship me? Stay out of my temple!
13 Your sacrifices are worthless, and incense is disgusting. I can't stand the evil you do on your New Moon Festivals or on your Sabbaths and other times of worship.
14 I hate your New Moon Festivals and all others as well. They are a heavy burden I am tired of carrying.
15 "No matter how much you pray, I won't listen. You are too violent.
16 Wash yourselves clean! I am disgusted with your filthy deeds. Stop doing wrong
17 and learn to live right. See that justice is done. Defend widows and orphans and help those in need."
18 I, the LORD, invite you to come and talk it over. Your sins are scarlet red, but they will be whiter than snow or wool.
19 If you willingly obey me, the best crops in the land will be yours.
20 But if you turn against me, your enemies will kill you. I, the LORD, have spoken.
21 Jerusalem, you are like an unfaithful wife. Once your judges were honest and your people lived right; now you are a city full of murderers.
22 Your silver is fake, and your wine is watered down.
23 Your leaders have rejected me to become friends of crooks; your rulers are looking for gifts and bribes. Widows and orphans never get a fair trial.
24 I am the LORD All-Powerful, the mighty ruler of Israel, and I make you a promise: You are now my enemy, and I will show my anger by taking revenge on you.
25 I will punish you terribly and burn away everything that makes you unfit to worship me.
26 Jerusalem, I will choose judges and advisors like those you had before. Your new name will be "Justice and Faithfulness."
27 Jerusalem, you will be saved by showing justice; Zion's people who turn to me will be saved by doing right.
28 But those rebellious sinners who turn against me, the LORD, will all disappear.
29 You will be made ashamed of those groves of trees where you worshiped idols.
30 You will be like a grove of trees dying in a drought.
31 Your strongest leaders will be like dry wood set on fire by their idols. No one will be able to help, as they all go up in flames.
1 This is the message that I was given about Judah and Jerusalem:
2 In the future, the mountain with the LORD's temple will be the highest of all. It will reach above the hills; every nation will rush to it.
3 Many people will come and say, "Let's go to the mountain of the LORD God of Jacob and worship in his temple." The LORD will teach us his Law from Jerusalem, and we will obey him.
4 He will settle arguments between nations. They will pound their swords and their spears into rakes and shovels; they will never make war or attack one another.
5 People of Israel, let's live by the light of the LORD.
6 Our LORD, you have deserted your people, Israel, because they follow customs of nations from the east. They worship Philistine gods and are close friends of foreigners.
7 They have endless treasures of silver and gold; they have countless horses and war chariots.
8 Everywhere in the country they worship the idols they have made.
9 And so, all of them will be ashamed and disgraced. Don't help them!
10 Every one of you, go hide among the rocks and in the ground, because the LORD is fearsome, marvelous, and glorious.
11 When the LORD comes, everyone who is proud will be made humble, and the LORD alone will be honored.
12 The LORD All-Powerful has chosen a day when those who are proud and conceited will be put down.
13 The tall and towering cedars of Lebanon will be destroyed. So will the oak trees of Bashan,
14 all high mountains and hills,
15 every strong fortress,
16 all the seagoing ships, and every beautiful boat.
17 When that day comes, everyone who is proud will be put down. Only the LORD will be honored.
18 Idols will be gone for good.
19 You had better hide in caves and holes-- the LORD will be fearsome, marvelous, and glorious when he comes to terrify people on earth.
20 On that day everyone will throw to the rats and bats their idols of silver and gold they made to worship.
21 The LORD will be fearsome, marvelous, and glorious when he comes to terrify people on earth-- they will hide in caves and in the hills.
22 Stop trusting the power of humans. They are all going to die, so how can they help?
1 The mighty LORD All-Powerful is going to take away from Jerusalem and Judah everything you need-- your bread and water, *
2 soldiers and heroes, judges and prophets, leaders and army officers,
3 officials and advisors, fortunetellers and others who tell the future.
4 He will let children and babies become your rulers.
5 You will each be cruel to friends and neighbors. Young people will insult their elders; no one will show respect to those who deserve it.
6 Some of you will grab hold of a relative and say, "You still have a coat. Be our leader and rule this pile of ruins."
7 But the answer will be, "I can't do you any good. Don't make me your leader. There's no food or clothing left in my house."
8 Jerusalem and Judah, you rebelled against your glorious LORD-- your words and your actions, made you stumble and fall.
9 The look on your faces shows that you are sinful as Sodom, and you don't try to hide it. You are in for trouble, and you have brought it all on yourselves.
10 Tell those who obey God, "You're very fortunate-- you will be rewarded for what you have done."
11 Tell those who disobey, "You're in big trouble-- what you did to others will come back to you."
12 Though you are God's people, you are ruled and abused by women and children. You are confused by leaders who guide you down the wrong path.
13 The LORD is ready to accuse and judge all nations.
14 He will even judge you rulers and leaders of his own nation. You destroyed his vineyard and filled your houses by robbing the poor.
15 The LORD All-Powerful says, "You have crushed my people and rubbed in the dirt the faces of the poor."
16 The LORD says: The women of Jerusalem are proud and strut around, winking shamelessly. They wear anklets that jingle and call attention to the way they walk.
17 But I, the LORD, will cover their heads with sores, and I will uncover their private parts.
18 When that day comes, I will take away from those women all the fine jewelry they wear on their ankles, heads, necks, ears, arms, noses, fingers, and on their clothes. I will remove their veils, their belts, their perfume, their magic charms, their royal robes, and all their fancy dresses, hats, and purses.
19 (SEE 3:18)
20 (SEE 3:18)
21 (SEE 3:18)
22 (SEE 3:18)
23 (SEE 3:18)
24 In place of perfume, there will be a stink; in place of belts, there will be ropes; in place of fancy hairdos, they will have bald heads. Instead of expensive clothes, they will wear sackcloth; instead of beauty, they will have ugly scars.
25 The fighting men of Jerusalem will be killed in battle.
26 The city will mourn and sit in the dirt, emptied of its people.
1 When this happens, seven women will grab the same man, and each of them will say, "I'll buy my own food and clothes! Just marry me and take away my disgrace."
2 The time is coming when the LORD will make his land fruitful and glorious again, and the people of Israel who survive will take great pride in what the land produces.
3 Everyone who is left alive in Jerusalem will be called special,
4 after the LORD sends a fiery judgment to clean the city and its people of their violent deeds.
5 Then the LORD will cover the whole city and its meeting places with a thick cloud each day and with a flaming fire each night. God's own glory will be like a huge tent that covers everything.
6 It will provide shade from the heat of the sun and a place of shelter and protection from storms and rain.
1 I will sing a song about my friend's vineyard that was on the side of a fertile hill.
2 My friend dug the ground, removed the stones, and planted the best vines. He built a watchtower and dug a pit in rocky ground for pressing the grapes. He hoped they would be sweet, but bitter grapes were all it produced.
3 Listen, people of Jerusalem and of Judah! You be the judge of me and my vineyard.
4 What more could I have done for my vineyard? I hoped for sweet grapes, but bitter grapes were all that grew.
5 Now I will let you know what I am going to do. I will cut down the hedge and tear down the wall. My vineyard will be trampled and left in ruins.
6 It will turn into a desert, neither pruned nor hoed; it will be covered with thorns and briars. I will command the clouds not to send rain.
7 I am the LORD All-Powerful! Israel is the vineyard, and Judah is the garden I tended with care. I had hoped for honesty and for justice, but dishonesty and cries for mercy were all I found.
8 You are in for trouble! You take over house after house and field after field, until there is no room left for anyone else in all the land.
9 But the LORD All-Powerful has made this promise to me: Those large and beautiful homes will be left empty, with no one to take care of them.
10 Ten acres of grapevines will produce only six gallons of juice, and five bushels of seed will produce merely a half-bushel of grain.
11 You are in for trouble! You get up early to start drinking, and you keep it up late into the night.
12 At your drinking parties you have the music of stringed instruments, tambourines, and flutes. But you never even think about all the LORD has done,
13 and so his people know nothing about him. That's why many of you will be dragged off to foreign lands. Your leaders will starve to death, and everyone else will suffer from thirst.
14 The world of the dead has opened its mouth wide and is eagerly waiting for the leaders of Jerusalem and for its noisy crowds, especially for those who take pride in that city.
15 Its citizens have been put down, and its proud people have been brought to shame.
16 But the holy LORD God All-Powerful is praised, because he has shown who he is by bringing justice.
17 His people will be like sheep grazing in their own pasture, and they will take off what was left by others.
18 You are in for trouble! The lies you tell are like ropes by which you drag along sin and evil.
19 And you say, "Let the holy God of Israel hurry up and do what he has promised, so we can see it for ourselves."
20 You are headed for trouble! You say wrong is right, darkness is light, and bitter is sweet.
21 You think you are clever and smart.
22 And you are great at drinking and mixing drinks. But you are in for trouble.
23 You accept bribes to let the guilty go free, and you cheat the innocent out of a fair trial.
24 You will go up in flames like straw and hay! You have rejected the teaching of the holy LORD God All-Powerful of Israel. Now your roots will rot, and your blossoms will turn to dust.
25 You are the LORD's people, but you made him terribly angry, and he struck you with his mighty arm. Mountains shook, and dead bodies covered the streets like garbage. The LORD is still angry, and he is ready to strike you again.
26 The LORD has signaled for the foreign nations to come and attack you. He has already whistled, and they are coming as fast as they can.
27 None of them are tired. They don't sleep or get drowsy, and they run without stumbling. Their belts don't come loose; their sandal straps don't break.
28 Their arrows are sharp, and their bows are ready. The hoofs of their horses are hard as flint; the wheels of their war chariots turn as fast as a whirlwind.
29 They roar and growl like fierce young lions as they grab their victims and drag them off where no one can rescue them.
30 On the day they attack, they will roar like the ocean. And across the land you will see nothing but darkness and trouble, because the light of day will be covered by thick clouds.
1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I had a vision of the LORD. He was on his throne high above, and his robe filled the temple.
2 Flaming creatures with six wings each were flying over him. They covered their faces with two of their wings and their bodies with two more. They used the other two wings for flying,
3 as they shouted, "Holy, holy, holy, LORD All-Powerful! The earth is filled with your glory."
4 As they shouted, the doorposts of the temple shook, and the temple was filled with smoke.
5 Then I cried out, "I'm doomed! Everything I say is sinful, and so are the words of everyone around me. Yet I have seen the King, the LORD All-Powerful."
6 One of the flaming creatures flew over to me with a burning coal that it had taken from the altar with a pair of metal tongs.
7 It touched my lips with the hot coal and said, "This has touched your lips. Your sins are forgiven, and you are no longer guilty."
8 After this, I heard the LORD ask, "Is there anyone I can send? Will someone go for us?" "I'll go," I answered. "Send me!"
9 Then the LORD told me to go and speak this message to the people: "You will listen and listen, but never understand. You will look and look, but never see." The LORD also said,
10 "Make these people stubborn! Make them stop up their ears, cover their eyes, and fail to understand. Don't let them turn to me and be healed."
11 Then I asked the LORD, "How long will this last?" The LORD answered: Until their towns are destroyed and their houses are deserted, until their fields are empty,
12 and I have sent them far away, leaving their land in ruins.
13 If only a tenth of the people are left, even they will be destroyed. But just as stumps remain after trees have been cut down, some of my chosen ones will be left.
1 Ahaz, the son of Jotham and the grandson of Uzziah, was king of Judah when King Rezin of Syria and King Pekah son of Remaliah of Israel went to attack Jerusalem. But they were not able to do what they had planned.
2 When news reached the royal palace that Syria had joined forces with Israel, King Ahaz and everyone in Judah were so terrified that they shook like trees in a windstorm.
3 Then the LORD said to me: Take your son Shearjashub and go see King Ahaz. You will find him on the road near the cloth makers' shops at the end of the canal that brings water from the upper pool.
4 Tell Ahaz to stop worrying. There's no need for him to be afraid of King Rezin and King Pekah. They are very angry, but they are nothing more than a dying fire. Ahaz doesn't need to fear
5 their evil threats
6 to invade and defeat Judah and Jerusalem and to let the son of Tabeel be king in his place.
7 I, the LORD, promise that this will never happen.
8 Damascus is just the capital of Syria, and King Rezin rules only in Damascus. Samaria is just the capital of Israel, and King Pekah rules only in Samaria. But in less than sixty-five years, Israel will be destroyed. And if Ahaz and his officials don't trust me, they will be defeated.
9 (SEE 7:8)
10 Once again the LORD God spoke to King Ahaz. This time he said,
11 "Ask me for proof that my promise will come true. Ask for something to happen deep in the world of the dead or high in the heavens above."
12 "No, LORD," Ahaz answered. "I won't test you!"
13 Then I said: Listen, every one of you in the royal family of David. You have already tried my patience. Now you are trying God's patience by refusing to ask for proof.
14 But the LORD will still give you proof. A virgin is pregnant; she will have a son and will name him Immanuel.
15 Even before the boy is old enough to know how to choose between right and wrong, he will eat yogurt and honey, and the countries of the two kings you fear will be destroyed.
16 (SEE 7:15)
17 But the LORD will make more trouble for your people and your kingdom than any of you have known since Israel broke away from Judah. He will even bring the king of Assyria to attack you.
18 When that time comes, the LORD will whistle, and armies will come from Egypt like flies and from Assyria like bees.
19 They will settle everywhere--in the deep valleys and between the rocks, on every bush and all over the pastureland.
20 The Lord will pay the king of Assyria to bring a razor from across the Euphrates River and shave your head and every hair on your body, including your beard.
21 No one will have more than one young cow and two sheep,
22 but those who do will have enough milk to make yogurt. In fact, everyone left in the land will eat yogurt and honey.
23 Vineyards that had a thousand vines and were worth a thousand pieces of silver will turn into thorn patches.
24 You will go there to hunt with your bow and arrows, because the whole country will be covered with thornbushes.
25 The hills where you once planted crops will be overgrown with thorns and thistles. You will be afraid to go there, and your cattle, sheep, and goats will be turned loose on those hills.
1 The LORD said, "Isaiah, get something to write on. Then write in big clear letters the name, MAHER-SHALAL-HASH-BAZ.
2 I will have Uriah the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberechiah serve as witnesses to this."
3 Sometime later, my wife and I had a son, and the LORD said, "Name him Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.
4 Because before he can say 'Mommy' or 'Daddy', the king of Assyria will attack and take everything of value from Damascus and Samaria."
5 The LORD spoke to me again and said:
6 These people have refused the gentle waters of Shiloah and have gladly gone over to the side of King Rezin and King Pekah.
7 Now I will send the king of Assyria against them with his powerful army, which will attack like the mighty Euphrates River overflowing its banks.
8 Enemy soldiers will cover Judah like a flood reaching up to your neck. But God is with us. He will spread his wings and protect our land.
9 All of you foreign nations, go ahead and prepare for war, but you will be crushed.
10 Get together and make plans, but you will fail because God is with us.
11 The LORD took hold of me with his powerful hand and said: I'm warning you! Don't act like these people.
12 Don't call something a rebellious plot, just because they do, and don't be afraid of something, just because they are.
13 I am the one you should fear and respect. I am the holy God, the LORD All-Powerful!
14 Run to me for protection. I am a rock that will make both Judah and Israel stumble and break their bones. I am a trap that will catch the people of Jerusalem--they will be captured and dragged away.
15 (SEE 8:14)
16 My message and my teachings are to be sealed and given to my followers.
17 Meanwhile, I patiently trust the LORD, even though he is no longer pleased with Israel.
18 My children and I are warning signs to Israel from the LORD All-Powerful, who lives on Mount Zion.
19 Someone may say to you, "Go to the fortunetellers who make soft chirping sounds or ask the spirits of the dead. After all, a nation ought to be able to ask its own gods
20 what it should do." None of those who talk like that will live to see the light of day!
21 They will go around in great pain and will become so hungry that they will angrily curse their king and their gods. And when they try to find help in heaven
22 and on earth, they will find only trouble and darkness, terrible trouble and deepest darkness.
1 But those who have suffered will no longer be in pain. The territories of Zebulun and Naphtali in Galilee were once hated. But this land of the Gentiles across the Jordan River and along the Mediterranean Sea will be greatly respected.
2 Those who walked in the dark have seen a bright light. And it shines upon everyone who lives in the land of darkest shadows.
3 Our LORD, you have made your nation stronger. Because of you, its people are glad and celebrate like workers at harvest time or like soldiers dividing up what they have taken.
4 You have broken the power of those who abused and enslaved your people. You have rescued them just as you saved your people from Midian.
5 The boots of marching warriors and the blood-stained uniforms have been fed to flames and eaten by fire.
6 A child has been born for us. We have been given a son who will be our ruler. His names will be Wonderful Advisor and Mighty God, Eternal Father and Prince of Peace.
7 His power will never end; peace will last forever. He will rule David's kingdom and make it grow strong. He will always rule with honesty and justice. The LORD All-Powerful will make certain that all of this is done.
8 The Lord had warned the people of Israel,
9 and all of them knew it, including everyone in the capital city of Samaria. But they were proud and stubborn and said,
10 "Houses of brick and sycamore have fallen to the ground, but we will build houses with stones and cedar."
11 The LORD made their enemies attack them.
12 He sent the Arameans from the east and the Philistines from the west, and they swallowed up Israel. But even this did not stop him from being angry, so he kept on punishing them.
13 The people of Israel still did not turn back to the LORD All-Powerful and worship him.
14 In one day he cut off their head and tail, their leaves and branches.
15 Their rulers and leaders were the head, and the lying prophets were the tail.
16 They had led the nation down the wrong path, and the people were confused.
17 The Lord was angry with his people and kept punishing them, because they had turned against him. They were evil and spoke foolishly. That's why he did not have pity on their young people or on their widows and orphans.
18 Evil had spread like a raging forest fire sending thornbushes up in smoke.
19 The LORD All-Powerful was angry and used the people as fuel for a fire that scorched the land. They turned against each other
20 like wild animals attacking and eating everyone around them, even their own relatives. But still they were not satisfied.
21 The tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh turned against each other, then joined forces to attack Judah. But the LORD was still angry and ready to punish the nation even more.
1 You people are in for trouble! You have made cruel and unfair laws
2 that let you cheat the poor and needy and rob widows and orphans.
3 But what will you do when you are fiercely attacked and punished by foreigners? Where will you run for help? Where will you hide your valuables?
4 How will you escape being captured or killed? The Lord is still angry, and he isn't through with you yet!
5 The Lord says: I am furious! And I will use the king of Assyria as a club
6 to beat down you godless people. I am angry with you, and I will send him to attack you. He will take what he wants and walk on you like mud in the streets.
7 He has even bigger plans in mind, because he wants to destroy many nations.
8 The king of Assyria says: My army commanders are kings!
9 They have already captured the cities of Calno, Carchemish, Hamath, Arpad, Samaria, and Damascus.
10 The gods of Jerusalem and Samaria are weaker than the gods of those powerful nations. And I will destroy Jerusalem, together with its gods and idols, just as I did Samaria.
11 (SEE 10:10)
12 The Lord will do what he has planned against Jerusalem and Mount Zion. Then he will punish the proud and boastful king of Assyria,
13 who says: I did these things by my own power because I am smart and clever. I attacked kings like a wild bull, and I took the land and the treasures of their nations.
14 I have conquered the whole world! And it was easier than taking eggs from an unguarded nest. No one even flapped a wing or made a peep.
15 King of Assyria, can an ax or a saw overpower the one who uses it? Can a wooden pole lift whoever holds it?
16 The mighty LORD All-Powerful will send a terrible disease to strike down your army, and you will burn with fever under your royal robes.
17 The holy God, who is the light of Israel, will turn into a fire, and in one day you will go up in flames, just like a thornbush.
18 The Lord will make your beautiful forests and fertile fields slowly rot.
19 There will be so few trees that even a young child can count them.
20 A time is coming when the survivors from Israel and Judah will completely depend on the holy LORD of Israel, instead of the nation that defeated them.
21 There were as many people as there are grains of sand along the seashore, but only a few will survive to come back to Israel's mighty God. This is because he has threatened to destroy their nation, just as they deserve.
22 (SEE 10:21)
23 The LORD All-Powerful has promised that everyone on this earth will be punished.
24 Now the LORD God All-Powerful says to his people in Jerusalem: The Assyrians will beat you with sticks and abuse you, just as the Egyptians did. But don't be afraid of them.
25 Soon I will stop being angry with you, and I will punish them for their crimes.
26 I will beat the Assyrians with a whip, as I did the people of Midian near the rock at Oreb. And I will show the same mighty power that I used when I made a path through the sea in Egypt.
27 Then they will no longer rule your nation. All will go well for you, and your burden will be lifted.
28 Enemy troops have reached the town of Aiath. They have gone through Migron, and they stored their supplies at Michmash,
29 before crossing the valley and spending the night at Geba. The people of Ramah are terrified; everyone in Gibeah, the hometown of Saul, has run away.
30 Loud crying can be heard in the towns of Gallim, Laishah, and sorrowful Anathoth.
31 No one is left in Madmenah or Gebim.
32 Today the enemy will camp at Nob and shake a threatening fist at Mount Zion in Jerusalem.
33 But the LORD All-Powerful will use his fearsome might to bring down the tallest trees and chop off every branch.
34 With an ax, the glorious Lord will destroy every tree in the forests of Lebanon.
1 Like a branch that sprouts from a stump, someone from David's family will someday be king.
2 The Spirit of the LORD will be with him to give him understanding, wisdom, and insight. He will be powerful, and he will know and honor the LORD.
3 His greatest joy will be to obey the LORD. This king won't judge by appearances or listen to rumors.
4 The poor and the needy will be treated with fairness and with justice. His word will be law everywhere in the land, and criminals will be put to death.
5 Honesty and fairness will be his royal robes.
6 Leopards will lie down with young goats, and wolves will rest with lambs. Calves and lions will eat together and be cared for by little children.
7 Cows and bears will share the same pasture; their young will rest side by side. Lions and oxen will both eat straw.
8 Little children will play near snake holes. They will stick their hands into dens of poisonous snakes and never be hurt.
9 Nothing harmful will take place on the LORD's holy mountain. Just as water fills the sea, the land will be filled with people who know and honor the LORD.
10 The time is coming when one of David's descendants will be the signal for the people of all nations to come together. They will follow his advice, and his own nation will become famous.
11 When that day comes, the Lord will again reach out his mighty arm and bring home his people who have survived in Assyria, Egypt, Pathros, Ethiopia, Elam, Shinar, Hamath, and the land along the coast.
12 He will give a signal to the nations, and he will bring together the refugees from Judah and Israel, who have been scattered all over the earth.
13 Israel will stop being jealous of Judah, and Judah will no longer be the enemy of Israel.
14 Instead, they will get together and attack the Philistines in the west. Then they will defeat the Edomites, the Moabites, and the Ammonites in the east. They will rule those people and take from them whatever they want.
15 The Lord will dry up the arm of the Red Sea near Egypt, and he will send a scorching wind to divide the Euphrates River into seven streams that anyone can step across.
16 Then for his people who survive, there will be a good road from Assyria, just as there was a good road for their ancestors when they left Egypt.
1 At that time you will say, "I thank you, LORD! You were angry with me, but you stopped being angry and gave me comfort.
2 I trust you to save me, LORD God, and I won't be afraid. My power and my strength come from you, and you have saved me."
3 With great joy, you people will get water from the well of victory.
4 At that time you will say, "Our LORD, we are thankful, and we worship only you. We will tell the nations how glorious you are and what you have done.
5 Because of your wonderful deeds we will sing your praises everywhere on earth."
6 Sing, people of Zion! Celebrate the greatness of the holy LORD of Israel. God is here to help you.
1 This is the message that I was given about Babylon:
2 From high on a barren hill give a signal, shout the orders, and point the way to enter the gates of Babylon's proud rulers.
3 The LORD has commanded his very best warriors and his proud heroes to show how angry he is.
4 Listen to the noisy crowds on the mountains! Kingdoms and nations are joining forces. The LORD All-Powerful is bringing together an army for battle.
5 From a distant land the LORD is coming fierce and furious-- he brings his weapons to destroy the earth.
6 Cry and weep! The day is coming when the mighty LORD will bring destruction. *
7 All people will be terrified. Hands will grow limp; courage will melt away.
8 Everyone will tremble with pain like a woman giving birth; they will stare at each other with horror on their faces.
9 I, the LORD, will show no mercy or pity when that time comes. In my anger I will destroy the earth and every sinner who lives on it.
10 Light will disappear from the stars in the sky; the dawning sun will turn dark, and the moon will lose its glow.
11 I will punish this evil world and its people because of their sins. I will crush the horrible pride of those who are cruel.
12 Survivors will be harder to find than the purest gold.
13 I, the LORD All-Powerful, am terribly angry-- I will make the sky tremble and the earth shake loose.
14 Everyone will run to their homelands, just as hunted deer run, and sheep scatter when they have no shepherd.
15 Those who are captured will be killed by a sword.
16 They will see their children beaten against rocks, their homes robbed, and their wives abused.
17 The Medes can't be bought off with silver or gold, and I'm sending them to attack Babylonia.
18 Their arrows will slaughter the young men; no pity will be shown to babies and children.
19 The city of Babylon is glorious and powerful, the pride of the nation. But it will be like the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah after I, the Lord, destroyed them.
20 No one will live in Babylon. Even nomads won't camp nearby, and shepherds won't let their sheep rest there.
21 Only desert creatures, hoot owls, and ostriches will live in its ruins, and goats will leap about.
22 Hyenas and wolves will howl from Babylon's fortresses and beautiful palaces. Its time is almost up!
1 The LORD will have mercy on Israel and will let them be his chosen people once again. He will bring them back to their own land, and foreigners will join them as part of Israel.
2 Other nations will lead them home, and Israel will make slaves of them in the land that belongs to the Lord. Israel will rule over those who once governed and mistreated them.
3 The LORD will set you free from your sorrow, suffering, and slavery.
4 Then you will make fun of the King of Babylonia by singing this song: That cruel monster is done for! He won't attack us again.
5 The LORD has crushed the power of those evil kings,
6 who were furious and never stopped abusing the people of other nations.
7 Now all the world is at peace; its people are celebrating with joyful songs.
8 King of Babylonia, even the cypress trees and the cedars of Lebanon celebrate and say, "Since you were put down, no one comes along to chop us down."
9 The world of the dead eagerly waits for you. With great excitement, the spirits of ancient rulers hear about your coming.
10 Each one of them will say, "Now you are just as weak as any of us!
11 Your pride and your music have ended here in the world of the dead. Worms are your blanket, maggots are your bed."
12 You, the bright morning star, have fallen from the sky! You brought down other nations; now you are brought down.
13 You said to yourself, "I'll climb to heaven and place my throne above the highest stars. I'll sit there with the gods far away in the north.
14 I'll be above the clouds, just like God Most High."
15 But now you are deep in the world of the dead.
16 Those who see you will stare and wonder, "Is this the man who made the world tremble and shook up kingdoms?
17 Did he capture every city and make earth a desert? Is he the one who refused to let prisoners go home?"
18 When kings die, they are buried in glorious tombs.
19 But you will be left unburied, just another dead body lying underfoot like a broken branch. You will be one of many killed in battle and gone down to the deep rocky pit.
20 You won't be buried with kings; you ruined your country and murdered your people. You evil monster! We hope that your family will be forgotten forever.
21 We will slaughter your sons to make them pay for the crimes of their ancestors. They won't take over the world or build cities anywhere on this earth.
22 The LORD All-Powerful has promised to attack Babylonia and destroy everyone there, so that none of them will ever be remembered again.
23 The LORD will sweep out the people, and the land will become a swamp for wild animals.
24 The LORD All-Powerful has made this promise: Everything I have planned will happen just as I said.
25 I will wipe out every Assyrian in my country, and I will crush those on my mountains. I will free my people from slavery to the Assyrians.
26 I have planned this for the whole world, and my mighty arm controls every nation.
27 I, the LORD All-Powerful, have made these plans. No one can stop me now!
28 This message came from the LORD in the year King Ahaz died:
29 Philistines, don't be happy just because the rod that punished you is broken. That rod will become a poisonous snake, and then a flying fiery dragon.
30 The poor and needy will find pastures for their sheep and will live in safety. But I will starve some of you, and others will be killed.
31 Cry and weep in the gates of your towns, you Philistines! Smoke blows in from the north, and every soldier is ready.
32 If a messenger comes from a distant nation, you must say: "The LORD built Zion. Even the poorest of his people will find safety there."
1 This is a message about Moab: The towns of Ar and Kir were destroyed in a night. Moab is left in ruins!
2 Everyone in Dibon has gone up to the temple and the shrines to cry and weep. All of Moab is crying. Heads and beards are shaved because of what happened at Nebo and Medeba.
3 In the towns and at home, everyone wears sackcloth and cries loud and long.
4 From Heshbon and Elealeh, weeping is heard in Jahaz; Moab's warriors scream while trembling with fear.
5 I pity Moab! Its people are running to Zoar and to Eglath-Shelishiyah. They cry on their way up to the town of Luhith; on the road to Horonaim they tell of disasters.
6 The streams of Nimrim and the grasslands have dried up. Every plant is parched.
7 The people of Moab are leaving, crossing over Willow Creek, taking everything they own and have worked for.
8 In the towns of Eglaim and of Beerelim and everywhere else in Moab mournful cries are heard.
9 The streams near Dimon are flowing with blood. But the Lord will bring even worse trouble to Dimon, because all in Moab who escape will be attacked by lions.
1 Send lambs as gifts to the ruler of the land. Send them across the desert from Sela to Mount Zion.
2 The women of Moab crossing the Arnon River are like a flock of birds scattered from their nests.
3 Moab's messengers say to the people of Judah, "Be kind and help us! Shade us from the heat of the noonday sun. Hide our refugees! Don't turn them away.
4 Let our people live in your country and find safety here." Moab, your cruel enemies will disappear; they will no longer attack and destroy your land.
5 Then a kingdom of love will be set up, and someone from David's family will rule with fairness. He will do what is right and quickly bring justice.
6 We have heard of Moab's pride. Its people strut and boast, but without reason.
7 Tell everyone in Moab to mourn for their nation. Tell them to cry and weep for those fancy raisins of Kir-Hareseth.
8 Vineyards near Heshbon and Sibmah have turned brown. The rulers of nations used to get drunk on wine from those vineyards that spread to Jazer, then across the desert and beyond the sea.
9 Now I mourn like Jazer for the vineyards of Sibmah. I shed tears for Heshbon and for Elealeh. There will be no more harvest celebrations
10 or joyful and happy times, while bringing in the crops. Singing and shouting are gone from the vineyards. There are no joyful shouts where grapes were pressed. God has silenced them all.
11 Deep in my heart I hurt for Moab and Kir-Heres.
12 It's useless for Moab's people to wear themselves out by going to their altars to worship and pray.
13 The LORD has already said all of this about Moab.
14 Now he says, "The contract of a hired worker is good for three years, but Moab's glory and greatness won't last any longer than that. Only a few of its people will survive, and they will be left helpless."
1 This is a message about Damascus: Damascus is doomed! It will end up in ruins.
2 The villages around Aroer will be deserted, with only sheep living there and no one to bother them.
3 Israel will lose its fortresses. The kingdom of Damascus will be destroyed; its survivors will suffer the same fate as Israel. The LORD All-Powerful has promised this.
4 When that time comes, the glorious nation of Israel will be brought down; its prosperous people will be skin and bones.
5 Israel will be like wheat fields in Rephaim Valley picked clean of grain.
6 It will be like an olive tree beaten with a stick, leaving two or three olives or maybe four or five on the highest or most fruitful branches. The LORD God of Israel has promised this.
7 At that time the people will turn and trust their Creator, the holy God of Israel.
8 They have built altars and places for burning incense to their goddess Asherah, and they have set up sacred poles for her. But they will stop worshiping at these places.
9 Israel captured powerful cities and chased out the people who lived there. But these cities will lie in ruins, covered over with weeds and underbrush.
10 Israel, you have forgotten the God who saves you, the one who is the mighty rock where you find protection. You plant the finest flowers to honor a foreign god.
11 The plants may sprout and blossom that very same morning, but it will do you no good, because you will suffer endless agony.
12 The nations are a noisy, thunderous sea.
13 But even if they roar like a fearsome flood, God will give the command to turn them back. They will be like dust, or like a tumbleweed blowing across the hills in a windstorm.
14 In the evening their attack is fierce, but by morning they are destroyed. This is what happens to those who raid and rob us.
1 Downstream from Ethiopia lies the country of Egypt, swarming with insects.
2 Egypt sends messengers up the Nile River on ships made of reeds. Send them fast to Ethiopia, whose people are tall and have smooth skin. Their land is divided by rivers; they are strong and brutal, feared all over the world.
3 Everyone on this earth, listen with care! A signal will be given on the mountains, and you will hear a trumpet.
4 The LORD said to me, "I will calmly look down from my home above-- as calmly as the sun at noon or clouds in the heat of harvest season."
5 Before the blossoms can turn into grapes, God will cut off the sprouts and hack off the branches.
6 Ethiopians will be food for mountain buzzards during the summer and for wild animals during the winter.
7 Those Ethiopians are tall and their skin is smooth. They are feared all over the world, because they are strong and brutal. But at that time they will come from their land divided by rivers, and they will bring gifts to the LORD All-Powerful, who is worshiped on Mount Zion.
1 This is a message about Egypt: The LORD comes to Egypt, riding swiftly on a cloud. The people are weak from fear. Their idols tremble as he approaches and says,
2 "I will punish Egypt with civil war-- neighbors, cities, and kingdoms will fight each other.
3 "Egypt will be discouraged when I confuse their plans. They will try to get advice from their idols, from the spirits of the dead, and from fortunetellers.
4 I will put the Egyptians under the power of a cruel, heartless king. I, the LORD All-Powerful, have promised this."
5 The Nile River will dry up and become parched land.
6 Its streams will stink, Egypt will have no water, and the reeds and tall grass will dry up.
7 Fields along the Nile will be completely barren; every plant will disappear.
8 Those who fish in the Nile will be discouraged and mourn.
9 None of the cloth makers will know what to do, and they will turn pale.
10 Weavers will be confused; paid workers will cry and mourn.
11 The king's officials in Zoan are foolish themselves and give stupid advice. How can they say to him, "We are very wise, and our families go back to kings of long ago?"
12 Where are those wise men now? If they can, let them say what the LORD All-Powerful intends for Egypt.
13 The royal officials in Zoan and in Memphis are foolish and deceived. The leaders in every state have given bad advice to the nation.
14 The LORD has confused Egypt; its leaders have made it stagger and vomit like a drunkard.
15 No one in Egypt can do a thing, no matter who they are.
16 When the LORD All-Powerful punishes Egypt with his mighty arm, the Egyptians will become terribly weak and will tremble with fear.
17 They will be so terrified of Judah that they will be frightened by the very mention of its name. This will happen because of what the LORD All-Powerful is planning against Egypt.
18 The time is coming when Hebrew will be spoken in five Egyptian cities, and their people will become followers of the LORD. One of these cities will be called City of the Sun.
19 In the heart of Egypt an altar will be set up for the LORD; at its border a shrine will be built to honor him.
20 These will remind the Egyptians that the LORD All-Powerful is with them. And when they are in trouble and ask for help, he will send someone to rescue them from their enemies.
21 The LORD will show the Egyptians who he is, and they will know and worship the LORD. They will bring him sacrifices and offerings, and they will keep their promises to him.
22 After the LORD has punished Egypt, the people will turn to him. Then he will answer their prayers, and the Egyptians will be healed.
23 At that time a good road will run from Egypt to Assyria. The Egyptians and the Assyrians will travel back and forth from Egypt to Assyria, and they will worship together.
24 Israel will join with these two countries. They will be a blessing to everyone on earth,
25 then the LORD All-Powerful will bless them by saying, "The Egyptians are my people. I created the Assyrians and chose the Israelites."
1 King Sargon of Assyria gave orders for his army commander to capture the city of Ashdod.
2 About this same time the LORD had told me, "Isaiah, take off everything, including your sandals!" I did this and went around naked and barefoot
3 for three years. Then the LORD said: What Isaiah has done is a warning to Egypt and Ethiopia.
4 Everyone in these two countries will be led away naked and barefoot by the king of Assyria. Young or old, they will be taken prisoner, and Egypt will be disgraced.
5 They will be confused and frustrated, because they depended on Ethiopia and bragged about Egypt.
6 When this happens, the people who live along the coast will say, "Look what happened to them! We ran to them for safety, hoping they would protect us from the king of Assyria. But now, there is no escape for us."
1 This is a message about a desert beside the sea: Enemies from a hostile nation attack like a whirlwind from the Southern Desert.
2 What a horrible vision was shown to me-- a vision of betrayal and destruction. Tell Elam and Media to surround and attack the Babylonians. The LORD has sworn to end the suffering they caused.
3 I'm in terrible pain like a woman giving birth. I'm shocked and hurt so much that I can't hear or see.
4 My head spins; I'm horrified! Early evening, my favorite time, has become a nightmare.
5 In Babylon the high officials were having a feast. They were eating and drinking, when someone shouted, "Officers, take your places! Grab your shields."
6 The LORD said to me, "Send guards to find out what's going on.
7 When they see cavalry troops and columns of soldiers on donkeys and camels, tell them to be ready!"
8 Then a guard said, "I have stood day and night on this watchtower, Lord.
9 Now I see column after column of cavalry troops." Right away someone shouted, "Babylon has fallen! Every idol in the city lies broken on the ground."
10 Then I said, "My people, you have suffered terribly, but I have a message for you from the LORD All-Powerful, the God of Israel."
11 This is a message about Dumah: From the country of Seir, someone shouts to me, "Guard, how much longer before daylight?"
12 From my guard post, I answered, "Morning will soon be here, but night will return. If you want to know more, come back later."
13 This is a message for Arabs who live in the barren desert in the region of Dedan: You must order your caravans
14 to bring water for those who are thirsty. You people of Tema must bring food for the hungry refugees.
15 They are worn out and weary from being chased by enemies with swords and arrows.
16 The Lord said to me: A year from now the glory of the people of Kedar will all come to an end, just as a worker's contract ends after a year.
17 Only a few of their warriors will be left with bows and arrows. This is a promise that I, the LORD God of Israel, have made.
1 This is a message about Vision Valley: Why are you celebrating on the flat roofs of your houses?
2 Your city is filled with noisy shouts. Those who lie drunk in your streets were not killed in battle.
3 Your leaders ran away, but they were captured without a fight. No matter how far they ran, they were found and caught.
4 Then I said, "Leave me alone! Let me cry bitter tears. My people have been destroyed, so don't try to comfort me."
5 The LORD All-Powerful had chosen a time for noisy shouts and confusion to fill Vision Valley, and for everyone to beg the mountains for help.
6 The people of Elam and Kir attacked with chariots and carried shields.
7 Your most beautiful valleys were covered with chariots; your cities were surrounded by cavalry troops.
8 Judah was left defenseless. At that time you trusted in the weapons you had stored in Forest Palace.
9 You saw the holes in the outer wall of Jerusalem, and you brought water from the lower pool.
10 You counted the houses in Jerusalem and tore down some of them, so you could get stones to repair the city wall.
11 Then you built a large tank between the walls to store the water. But you refused to trust the God who planned this long ago and made it happen.
12 When all of this happened, the LORD All-Powerful told you to weep and mourn, to shave your heads, and wear sackcloth.
13 But instead, you celebrated by feasting on beef and lamb and by drinking wine, because you said, "Let's eat and drink! Tomorrow we may die."
14 The LORD All-Powerful has spoken to me this solemn promise: "I won't forgive them for this, not as long as they live."
15 The LORD All-Powerful is sending you with this message for Shebna, the prime minister:
16 Shebna, what gives you the right to have a tomb carved out of rock in this burial place of royalty? None of your relatives are buried here.
17 You may be powerful, but the LORD is about to snatch you up and throw you away.
18 He will roll you into a ball and throw you into a wide open country, where you will die and your chariots will be destroyed. You're a disgrace to those you serve.
19 The LORD is going to take away your job!
20 He will give your official robes and your authority to his servant Eliakim son of Hilkiah. Eliakim will be like a father to the people of Jerusalem and to the royal family of Judah.
21 (SEE 22:20)
22 The LORD will put him in charge of the key that belongs to King David's family. No one will be able to unlock what he locks, and no one will be able to lock what he unlocks.
23 The LORD will make him as firm in his position as a tent peg hammered in the ground, and Eliakim will bring honor to his family.
24 His children and relatives will be supported by him, like pans hanging from a peg on the wall.
25 That peg is fastened firmly now, but someday it will be shaken loose and fall down. Then everything that was hanging on it will be destroyed. This is what the LORD All-Powerful has promised.
1 This is a message from distant islands about the city of Tyre: Cry, you seagoing ships! Tyre and its houses lie in ruins.
2 Mourn in silence, you shop owners of Sidon, you people on the coast. Your sailors crossed oceans, making your city rich.
3 Your merchants sailed the seas, making you wealthy by trading with nation after nation. They brought back grain that grew along the Nile.
4 Sidon, you are a mighty fortress built along the sea. But you will be disgraced like a married woman who never had children.
5 When Egypt hears about Tyre, it will tremble.
6 All of you along the coast had better cry and sail far across the ocean.
7 Can this be the happy city that has stood for centuries? Its people have spread to distant lands;
8 its merchants were kings honored all over the world. Who planned to destroy Tyre?
9 The LORD All-Powerful planned it to bring shame and disgrace to those who are honored by everyone on earth.
10 People of Tyre, your harbor is destroyed! You will have to become farmers just like the Egyptians.
11 The LORD's hand has reached across the sea, upsetting the nations. He has given a command to destroy fortresses in the land of Canaan.
12 The LORD has said to the people of Sidon, "Your celebrating is over-- you are crushed. Even if you escape to Cyprus, you won't find peace."
13 Look what the Assyrians have done to Babylonia! They have attacked, destroying every palace in the land. Now wild animals live among the ruins.
14 Not a fortress will be left standing, so tell all the seagoing ships to mourn.
15 The city of Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years, which is the lifetime of a king. Then Tyre will be like that evil woman in the song:
16 You're gone and forgotten, you evil woman! So strut through the town, singing and playing your favorite tune to be remembered again.
17 At the end of those seventy years, the LORD will let Tyre get back into business. The city will be like a woman who sells her body to everyone of every nation on earth,
18 but none of what is earned will be kept in the city. That money will belong to the LORD, and it will be used to buy more than enough food and good clothes for those who worship the LORD.
1 The LORD is going to twist the earth out of shape and turn it into a desert. Everyone will be scattered,
2 including ordinary people and priests, slaves and slave owners, buyers and sellers, lenders and borrowers, the rich and the poor.
3 The earth will be stripped bare and left that way. This is what the LORD has promised.
4 The earth wilts away; its mighty leaders melt to nothing.
5 The earth is polluted because its people disobeyed the laws of God, breaking their agreement that was to last forever.
6 The earth is under a curse; its people are dying out because of their sins.
7 Grapevines have dried up: wine is almost gone-- mournful sounds are heard instead of joyful shouts.
8 No one plays tambourines or stringed instruments; all noisy celebrating has come to an end.
9 They no longer sing as they drink their wine, and it tastes sour.
10 Towns are crushed and in chaos; houses are locked tight.
11 Happy times have disappeared from the earth, and people shout in the streets, "We're out of wine!"
12 Cities are destroyed; their gates are torn down.
13 Nations will be stripped bare, like olive trees or vineyards after the harvest season.
14 People in the west shout; they joyfully praise the majesty of the LORD.
15 And so, everyone in the east and those on the islands should praise the LORD, the God of Israel.
16 From all over the world songs of praise are heard for the God of justice. But I feel awful, terribly miserable. Can anyone be trusted? So many are treacherous!
17 Terror, traps, and pits are waiting for everyone.
18 If you are terrified and run, you will fall into a pit; if you crawl out of the pit, you will get caught in a trap. The sky has split apart like a window thrown open. The foundations of the earth have been shaken;
19 the earth is shattered, ripped to pieces.
20 It staggers and shakes like a drunkard or a hut in a windstorm. It is burdened down with sin; the earth will fall, never again to get up.
21 On that day the LORD will punish the powers in the heavens and the kings of the earth.
22 He will put them in a pit and keep them prisoner. Then later on, he will punish them.
23 The moon and sun will both be embarrassed and ashamed. The LORD All-Powerful will rule on Mount Zion in Jerusalem, where he will show its rulers his wonderful glory.
1 You, LORD, are my God! I will praise you for doing the wonderful things you had planned and promised since ancient times.
2 You have destroyed the fortress of our enemies, leaving their city in ruins. Nothing in that foreign city will ever be rebuilt.
3 Now strong and cruel nations will fear and honor you.
4 You have been a place of safety for the poor and needy in times of trouble. Brutal enemies pounded us like a heavy rain or the heat of the sun at noon, but you were our shelter.
5 Those wild foreigners struck like scorching desert heat. But you were like a cloud, protecting us from the sun. You kept our enemies from singing songs of victory.
6 On this mountain the LORD All-Powerful will prepare for all nations a feast of the finest foods. Choice wines and the best meats will be served.
7 Here the LORD will strip away the burial clothes that cover the nations.
8 The LORD All-Powerful will destroy the power of death and wipe away all tears. No longer will his people be insulted everywhere. The LORD has spoken!
9 At that time, people will say, "The LORD has saved us! Let's celebrate. We waited and hoped-- now our God is here."
10 The powerful arm of the LORD will protect this mountain. The Moabites will be put down and trampled on like straw in a pit of manure.
11 They will struggle to get out, but God will humiliate them no matter how hard they try.
12 The walls of their fortresses will be knocked down and scattered in the dirt.
1 The time is coming when the people of Judah will sing this song: "Our city is protected. The LORD is our fortress, and he gives us victory.
2 Open the city gates for a law-abiding nation that is faithful to God.
3 The LORD gives perfect peace to those whose faith is firm.
4 So always trust the LORD because he is forever our mighty rock.
5 God has put down our enemies in their mountain city and rubbed it in the dirt.
6 Now the poor and abused stomp all over that city."
7 Our LORD, you always do right, and you make the path smooth for those who obey you.
8 You are the one we trust to bring about justice; above all else we want your name to be honored.
9 Throughout the night, my heart searches for you, because your decisions show everyone on this earth how to live right.
10 Even when the wicked are treated with mercy in this land of justice, they do wrong and are blind to your glory, our LORD.
11 Your hand is raised and ready to punish them, but they don't see it. Put them to shame! Show how much you care for us and throw them into the fire intended for your enemies.
12 You will give us peace, LORD, because everything we have done was by your power.
13 Others have ruled over us besides you, our LORD God, but we obey only you.
14 Those enemies are now dead and can never live again. You have punished them-- they are destroyed, completely forgotten.
15 Our nation has grown because of you, our LORD. We have more land than before, and you are honored.
16 When you punished our people, they turned and prayed to you, our LORD.
17 Because of what you did to us, we suffered like a woman about to give birth.
18 But instead of having a child, our terrible pain produced only wind. We have won no victories, and we have no descendants to take over the earth.
19 Your people will rise to life! Tell them to leave their graves and celebrate with shouts. You refresh the earth like morning dew; you give life to the dead.
20 Go inside and lock the doors, my people. Hide there for a little while, until the LORD is no longer angry.
21 The LORD will come out to punish everyone on earth for their sins. And when he does, those who did violent crimes will be known and punished.
1 On that day, Leviathan, the sea monster, will squirm and try to escape, but the LORD will kill him with a cruel, sharp sword.
2 At that time you must sing about a fruitful vineyard.
3 I, the LORD, will protect it and always keep it watered. I will guard it day and night to keep it from harm.
4 I am no longer angry. But if it produces thorns, I will go to war against it and burn it to the ground.
5 Yet if the vineyard depends on me for protection, it will become my friend and be at peace with me.
6 Someday Israel will take root like a vine. It will blossom and bear fruit that covers the earth.
7 I, the LORD, didn't punish and kill the people of Israel as fiercely as I punished and killed their enemies.
8 I carefully measured out Israel's punishment and sent the scorching heat to chase them far away.
9 There's only one way that Israel's sin and guilt can be completely forgiven: They must crush the stones of every pagan altar and place of worship.
10 Fortress cities are left like a desert where no one lives. Cattle walk through the ruins, stripping the trees bare.
11 When broken branches fall to the ground, women pick them up to feed the fire. But these people are so stupid that the God who created them will show them no mercy.
12 The time is coming when the LORD will shake the land between the Euphrates River and the border of Egypt, and one by one he will bring all of his people together.
13 A loud trumpet will be heard. Then the people of Israel who were dragged away to Assyria and Egypt will return to worship the LORD on his holy mountain in Jerusalem.
1 The city of Samaria above a fertile valley is in for trouble! Its leaders are drunkards, who stuff themselves with food and wine. But they will be like flowers that dry up and wilt.
2 Only the Lord is strong and powerful! His mighty hand will strike them down with the force of a hailstorm or a mighty whirlwind or an overwhelming flood.
3 Every drunkard in Ephraim takes pride in Samaria, but it will be crushed.
4 Samaria above a fertile valley will quickly lose its glory. It will be gobbled down like the first ripe fig at harvest season.
5 When this time comes, the LORD All-Powerful will be a glorious crown for his people who survive.
6 He will see that justice rules and that his people are able to defend their cities.
7 Priests and prophets stumble because they are drunk. Their minds are too confused to receive God's messages or give honest decisions.
8 Their tables are covered, completely covered, with their stinking vomit.
9 You drunken leaders are like babies! How can you possibly understand or teach the LORD's message?
10 You don't even listen-- all you hear is senseless sound after senseless sound.
11 So, the Lord will speak to his people in strange sounds and foreign languages.
12 He promised you perfect peace and rest, but you refused to listen.
13 Now his message to you will be senseless sound after senseless sound. Then you will fall backwards, injured and trapped.
14 You rulers of Jerusalem do nothing but sneer; now you must listen to what the LORD says.
15 Do you think you have an agreement with death and the world of the dead? Why do you trust in your lies to keep you safe from danger and the mighty flood?
16 And so the LORD says, "I'm laying a firm foundation for the city of Zion. It's a valuable cornerstone proven to be trustworthy; no one who trusts it will ever be disappointed.
17 Justice and fairness will be the measuring lines that help me build." Hailstones and floods will destroy and wash away your shelter of lies.
18 Your agreement with death and the world of the dead will be broken. Then angry, roaring waves will sweep over you.
19 Morning, noon, and night an overwhelming flood will wash you away. The terrible things that happen will teach you this lesson:
20 Your bed is too short, your blanket too skimpy.
21 The LORD will fiercely attack as he did at Mount Perazim and in Gibeon Valley. But this time the LORD will do something surprising, not what you expect.
22 So you had better stop sneering or you will be in worse shape than ever before. I heard the LORD All-Powerful threaten the whole country with destruction.
23 Pay close attention to what I am saying.
24 Farmers don't just plow and break up the ground.
25 When a field is ready, they scatter the seeds of dill and cumin; they plant the seeds of wheat and barley in the proper places.
26 They learn this from their God.
27 After dill and cumin have been harvested, the stalks are pounded, not run over with a wagon.
28 Wheat and barley are pounded, but not beaten to pulp; they are run over with a wagon, but not ground to dust.
29 This wonderful knowledge comes from the LORD All-Powerful, who has such great wisdom.
1 Jerusalem, city of David, the place of my altar, you are in for trouble! Celebrate your festivals year after year.
2 I will still make you suffer, and your people will cry when I make an altar of you.
3 I will surround you and prepare to attack from all sides.
4 From deep in the earth, you will call out for help with only a faint whisper.
5 Then your cruel enemies will suddenly be swept away like dust in a windstorm.
6 I, the LORD All-Powerful, will come to your rescue with a thundering earthquake and a fiery whirlwind.
7 Every brutal nation that attacks Jerusalem and makes it suffer will disappear like a dream when night is over.
8 Those nations that attack Mount Zion will suffer from hunger and thirst. They will dream of food and drink but wake up weary and hungry and thirsty as ever.
9 Be shocked and stunned, you prophets! Refuse to see. Get drunk and stagger, but not from wine.
10 The LORD has made you drowsy; he put you into a deep sleep and covered your head.
11 Now his message is like a sealed letter to you. Some of you say, "We can't read it, because it's sealed."
12 Others say, "We can't read it, because we don't know how to read."
13 The Lord has said: "These people praise me with their words, but they never really think about me. They worship me by repeating rules made up by humans.
14 So once again I will do things that shock and amaze them, and I will destroy the wisdom of those who claim to know and understand."
15 You are in for trouble, if you try to hide your plans from the LORD! Or if you think what you do in the dark can't be seen.
16 You have it all backwards. A clay dish doesn't say to the potter, "You didn't make me. You don't even know how."
17 Soon the forest of Lebanon will become a field with crops, thick as a forest.
18 The deaf will be able to hear whatever is read to them; the blind will be freed from a life of darkness.
19 The poor and the needy will celebrate and shout because of the LORD, the holy God of Israel.
20 All who are cruel and arrogant will be gone forever. Those who live by crime will disappear,
21 together with everyone who tells lies in court and keeps innocent people from getting a fair trial.
22 The LORD who rescued Abraham has this to say about Jacob's descendants: "They will no longer be ashamed and disgraced.
23 When they see how great I have made their nation, they will praise and honor me, the holy God of Israel.
24 Everyone who is confused will understand, and all who have complained will obey my teaching."
1 This is the LORD's message for his rebellious people: "You follow your own plans instead of mine; you make treaties without asking me, and you keep on sinning.
2 You trust Egypt for protection. So you refuse my advice and send messengers to Egypt to beg their king for help.
3 You will be disappointed, completely disgraced for trusting Egypt.
4 The king's power reaches from the city of Zoan as far south as Hanes.
5 But Egypt can't protect you, and to trust that nation is useless and foolish.
6 This is a message about the animals of the Southern Desert: You people carry treasures on donkeys and camels. You travel to a feeble nation through a troublesome desert filled with lions and flying fiery dragons.
7 Egypt can't help you! That's why I call that nation a helpless monster.
8 The LORD told me to write down his message for his people, so that it would be there forever.
9 They have turned against the LORD and can't be trusted. They have refused his teaching
10 and have said to his messengers and prophets: Don't tell us what God has shown you and don't preach the truth. Just say what we want to hear, even if it's false.
11 Stop telling us what God has said! We don't want to hear any more about the holy God of Israel.
12 Now this is the answer of the holy God of Israel: "You rejected my message, and you trust in violence and lies.
13 This sin is like a crack that makes a high wall quickly crumble
14 and shatter like a crushed bowl. There's not a piece left big enough to carry hot coals or to dip out water."
15 The holy LORD God of Israel had told all of you, "I will keep you safe if you turn back to me and calm down. I will make you strong if you quietly trust me." Then you stubbornly
16 said, "No! We will safely escape on speedy horses." But those who chase you will be even faster.
17 As few as five of them, or even one, will be enough to chase a thousand of you. Finally, all that will be left will be a few survivors as lonely as a flag pole on a barren hill.
18 The LORD God is waiting to show how kind he is and to have pity on you. The LORD always does right; he blesses those who trust him.
19 People of Jerusalem, you don't need to cry anymore. The Lord is kind, and as soon as he hears your cries for help, he will come.
20 The Lord has given you trouble and sorrow as your food and drink. But now you will again see the Lord, your teacher, and he will guide you.
21 Whether you turn to the right or to the left, you will hear a voice saying, "This is the road! Now follow it."
22 Then you will treat your idols of silver and gold like garbage; you will throw them away like filthy rags.
23 The Lord will send rain to water the seeds you have planted--your fields will produce more crops than you need, and your cattle will graze in open pastures.
24 Even the oxen and donkeys that plow your fields will be fed the finest grain.
25 On that day people will be slaughtered and towers destroyed, but streams of water will flow from high hills and towering mountains.
26 Then the LORD will bandage his people's injuries and heal the wounds he has caused. The moon will shine as bright as the sun, and the sun will shine seven times brighter than usual. It will be like the light of seven days all at once.
27 The LORD is coming from far away with his fiery anger and thick clouds of smoke. His angry words flame up like a destructive fire;
28 he breathes out a flood that comes up to the neck. He sifts the nations and destroys them. Then he puts a bridle in every foreigner's mouth and leads them to doom.
29 The LORD's people will sing as they do when they celebrate a religious festival at night. The LORD is Israel's mighty rock, and his people will be as happy as they are when they follow the sound of flutes to the mountain where he is worshiped.
30 The LORD will get furious. His fearsome voice will be heard, his arm will be seen ready to strike, and his anger will be like a destructive fire, followed by thunderstorms and hailstones.
31 When the Assyrians hear the LORD's voice and see him striking with his iron rod, they will be terrified.
32 He will attack them in battle, and each time he strikes them, it will be to the music of tambourines and harps.
33 Long ago the LORD got a place ready for burning the body of the dead king. The place for the fire is deep and wide, the wood is piled high, and the LORD will start the fire by breathing out flaming sulfur.
1 You are in for trouble if you go to Egypt for help, or if you depend on an army of chariots or a powerful cavalry. Instead you should depend on and trust the holy LORD God of Israel.
2 The LORD isn't stupid! He does what he promises, and he can bring doom. If you are cruel yourself, or help those who are evil, you will be destroyed.
3 The Egyptians are mere humans. They aren't God. Their horses are made of flesh; they can't live forever. When the LORD shows his power, he will destroy the Egyptians and all who depend on them. Together they will fall.
4 The LORD All-Powerful said to me, "I will roar and attack like a fearless lion not frightened by the shouts of shepherds trying to protect their sheep. That's how I will come down and fight on Mount Zion.
5 I, the LORD All-Powerful, will protect Jerusalem like a mother bird circling over her nest."
6 People of Israel, come back! You have completely turned from the LORD.
7 The time is coming when you will throw away your idols of silver and gold, made by your sinful hands.
8 The Assyrians will be killed, but not by the swords of humans. Their young men will try to escape, but they will be captured and forced into slavery.
9 Their fortress will fall when terror strikes; their army officers will be frightened and run from the battle. This is what the LORD has said, the LORD whose fiery furnace is built on Mount Zion.
1 A king and his leaders will rule with justice.
2 They will be a place of safety from stormy winds, a stream in the desert, and a rock that gives shade from the heat of the sun.
3 Then everyone who has eyes will open them and see, and those who have ears will pay attention.
4 All who are impatient will take time to think; everyone who stutters will talk clearly.
5 Fools will no longer be highly respected, and crooks won't be given positions of honor.
6 Fools talk foolishness. They always make plans to do sinful things, to lie about the LORD, to let the hungry starve, and to keep water from those who are thirsty.
7 Cruel people tell lies-- they do evil things, and make cruel plans to destroy the poor and needy, even when they beg for justice.
8 But helpful people can always be trusted to make helpful plans.
9 Listen to what I say, you women who are carefree and careless!
10 You may not have worries now, but in about a year, the grape harvest will fail, and you will tremble.
11 Shake and shudder, you women without a care! Strip off your clothes-- put on sackcloth.
12 Slap your breasts in sorrow because of what happened to the fruitful fields and vineyards,
13 and to the happy homes in Jerusalem. The land of my people is covered with thorns.
14 The palace will be deserted, the crowded city empty. Fortresses and towers will forever become playgrounds for wild donkeys and pastures for sheep.
15 When the Spirit is given to us from heaven, deserts will become orchards thick as fertile forests.
16 Honesty and justice will prosper there,
17 and justice will produce lasting peace and security.
18 You, the LORD's people, will live in peace, calm and secure,
19 even if hailstones flatten forests and cities.
20 You will have God's blessing, as you plant your crops beside streams, while your donkeys and cattle roam freely about.
1 You defeated my people. Now you're in for trouble! You've never been destroyed, but you will be destroyed; you've never been betrayed, but you will be betrayed. When you have finished destroying and betraying, you will be destroyed and betrayed in return.
2 Please, LORD, be kind to us! We depend on you. Make us strong each morning, and come to save us when we are in trouble.
3 Nations scatter when you roar and show your greatness.
4 We attack our enemies like swarms of locusts; we take everything that belongs to them.
5 You, LORD, are above all others, and you live in the heavens. You have brought justice and fairness to Jerusalem;
6 you are the foundation on which we stand today. You always save us and give true wisdom and knowledge. Nothing means more to us than obeying you.
7 Listen! Our bravest soldiers are running through the streets, screaming for help. Our messengers hoped for peace, but came home crying.
8 No one travels anymore; every road is empty. Treaties are broken, and no respect is shown to any who keep promises.
9 Fields are dry and barren; Mount Lebanon wilts with shame. Sharon Valley is a desert; the forests of Bashan and Carmel have lost their leaves.
10 But the LORD says, "Now I will do something and be greatly praised.
11 Your deeds are straw that will be set on fire by your very own breath.
12 You will be burned to ashes like thorns in a fire.
13 Everyone, both far and near, come look at what I have done. See my mighty power!"
14 Those terrible sinners on Mount Zion tremble as they ask in fear, "How can we possibly live where a raging fire never stops burning?"
15 But there will be rewards for those who live right and tell the truth, for those who refuse to take money by force or accept bribes, for all who hate murder and violent crimes.
16 They will live in a fortress high on a rocky cliff, where they will have food and plenty of water.
17 With your own eyes you will see the glorious King; you will see his kingdom reaching far and wide.
18 Then you will ask yourself, "Where are those officials who terrified us and forced us to pay such heavy taxes?"
19 You will never again have to see the proud people who spoke a strange and foreign language you could not understand.
20 Look to Mount Zion where we celebrate our religious festivals. You will see Jerusalem, secure as a tent with pegs that cannot be pulled up and fastened with ropes that can never be broken.
21 Our wonderful LORD will be with us! There will be deep rivers and wide streams safe from enemy ships.
22 The LORD is our judge and our ruler; the LORD is our king and will keep us safe.
23 But your nation is a ship with its rigging loose, its mast shaky, and its sail not spread. Someday even you that are lame will take everything you want from your enemies.
24 The LORD will forgive your sins, and none of you will say, "I feel sick."
1 Everyone of every nation, the entire earth, and all of its creatures, come here and listen!
2 The LORD is terribly angry with the nations; he has condemned them to be slaughtered.
3 Their dead bodies will be left to rot and stink; their blood will flow down the mountains.
4 Each star will disappear-- the sky will roll up like a scroll. Everything in the sky will dry up and wilt like leaves on a vine or fruit on a tree.
5 After the sword of the LORD has done what it wants to the skies above, it will come down on Edom, the nation that the LORD has doomed for destruction.
6 The sword of the LORD is covered with blood from lambs and goats, together with fat from kidneys of rams. This is because the LORD will slaughter many people and make a sacrifice of them in the city of Bozrah and everywhere else in Edom.
7 Edom's leaders are wild oxen. They are powerful bulls, but they will die with the others. Their country will be soaked with their blood, and its soil made fertile with their fat.
8 The LORD has chosen the year and the day, when he will take revenge and come to Zion's defense.
9 Edom's streams will turn into tar and its soil into sulfur-- then the whole country will go up in flames.
10 It will burn night and day and never stop smoking. Edom will be a desert, generation after generation; no one will ever travel through that land.
11 Owls, hawks, and wild animals will make it their home. God will leave it in ruins, merely a pile of rocks.
12 Edom will be called "Kingdom of Nothing." Its rulers will also be nothing.
13 Its palaces and fortresses will be covered with thorns; only wolves and ostriches will make their home there.
14 Wildcats and hyenas will hunt together, demons will scream to demons, and creatures of the night will live among the ruins.
15 Owls will nest there to raise their young among its shadows, while families of buzzards circle around.
16 In The Book of the LORD you can search and find where it is written, "The LORD brought together all of his creatures by the power of his Spirit. Not one is missing."
17 The LORD has decided where they each should live; they will be there forever, generation after generation.
1 Thirsty deserts will be glad; barren lands will celebrate and blossom with flowers.
2 Deserts will bloom everywhere and sing joyful songs. They will be as majestic as Mount Lebanon, as glorious as Mount Carmel or Sharon Valley. Everyone will see the wonderful splendor of the LORD our God. *
3 Here is a message for all who are weak, trembling, and worried:
4 "Cheer up! Don't be afraid. Your God is coming to punish your enemies. God will take revenge on them and rescue you."
5 The blind will see, and the ears of the deaf will be healed.
6 Those who were lame will leap around like deer; tongues once silent will begin to shout. Water will rush through the desert.
7 Scorching sand will turn into a lake, and thirsty ground will flow with fountains. Grass will grow in wetlands, where packs of wild dogs once made their home.
8 A good road will be there, and it will be named "God's Sacred Highway." It will be for God's people; no one unfit to worship God will walk on that road. And no fools can travel on that highway.
9 No lions or other wild animals will come near that road; only those the LORD has saved will travel there.
10 The people the LORD has rescued will come back singing as they enter Zion. Happiness will be a crown they will always wear. They will celebrate and shout because all sorrows and worries will be gone far away.
1 Hezekiah had been king of Judah for fourteen years when King Sennacherib of Assyria invaded the country and captured every walled city
2 except Jerusalem. The Assyrian king ordered his army commander to leave the city of Lachish and to take a large army to Jerusalem. The commander went there and stood on the road near the cloth makers' shops along the canal from the upper pool.
3 Three of the king's highest officials came out of Jerusalem to meet him. One of them was Hilkiah's son Eliakim, who was the prime minister. The other two were Shebna, assistant to the prime minister, and Joah son of Asaph, keeper of the government records.
4 The Assyrian commander told them: I have a message for Hezekiah from the great king of Assyria. Ask Hezekiah why he feels so sure of himself.
5 Does he think he can plan and win a war with nothing but words? Who is going to help him, now that he has turned against the king of Assyria?
6 Is he depending on Egypt and its king? That's the same as leaning on a broken stick, and it will go right through his hand.
7 Is Hezekiah now depending on the LORD, your God? Didn't Hezekiah tear down all except one of the LORD's altars and places of worship? Didn't he tell the people of Jerusalem and Judah to worship at that one place?
8 The king of Assyria wants to make a bet with you people! He will give you two thousand horses, if you have enough troops to ride them.
9 How could you even defeat our lowest ranking officer, when you have to depend on Egypt for chariots and cavalry?
10 Don't forget that it was the LORD who sent me here with orders to destroy your nation!
11 Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said, "Sir, we don't want the people listening from the city wall to understand what you are saying. So please speak to us in Aramaic instead of Hebrew."
12 The Assyrian army commander answered, "My king sent me to speak to everyone, not just to you leaders. These people will soon have to eat their own body waste and drink their own urine! And so will the three of you!"
13 Then, in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear, he shouted out in Hebrew: Listen to what the great king of Assyria says!
14 Don't be fooled by Hezekiah. He can't save you.
15 Don't trust him when he tells you that the LORD will protect you from the king of Assyria.
16 Stop listening to Hezekiah. Pay attention to my king. Surrender to him. He will let you keep your own vineyards, fig trees, and cisterns
17 for a while. Then he will come and take you away to a country just like yours, where you can plant vineyards and raise your own grain.
18 Hezekiah claims the LORD will save you. But don't be fooled by him. Were any other gods able to defend their land against the king of Assyria?
19 What happened to the gods of Hamath, Arpad, and Sepharvaim? Were the gods of Samaria able to protect their land against the Assyrian forces?
20 None of these gods kept their people safe from the king of Assyria. Do you think the LORD, your God, can do any better?
21 Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah had been warned by King Hezekiah not to answer the Assyrian commander. So they tore their clothes in sorrow and reported to Hezekiah everything the commander had said.
22 (SEE 36:21)
1 As soon as Hezekiah heard the news, he tore off his clothes in sorrow and put on sackcloth. Then he went into the temple of the LORD.
2 He told Prime Minister Eliakim, Assistant Prime Minister Shebna, and the senior priests to dress in sackcloth and tell me:
3 Isaiah, these are difficult and disgraceful times. Our nation is like a woman too weak to give birth, when it's time for her baby to be born.
4 Please pray for those of us who are left alive. The king of Assyria sent his army commander to insult the living God. Perhaps the LORD heard what he said and will do something, if you will pray.
5 When these leaders came to me,
6 I told them that the LORD had this message for Hezekiah: I am the LORD. Don't worry about the insulting things that have been said about me by these messengers from the king of Assyria.
7 I will upset him with rumors about what's happening in his own country. He will go back, and there I will make him die a violent death.
8 Meanwhile the commander of the Assyrian forces heard that his king had left the town of Lachish and was now attacking Libnah. So he went there.
9 About this same time, the king of Assyria learned that King Tirhakah of Ethiopia was on his way to attack him. Then the king of Assyria sent some messengers with this note for Hezekiah:
10 Don't trust your God or be fooled by his promise to defend Jerusalem against me.
11 You have heard how we Assyrian kings have completely wiped out other nations. What makes you feel so safe?
12 The Assyrian kings before me destroyed the towns of Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and everyone from Eden who lived in Telassar. What good did their gods do them?
13 The kings of Hamath, Arpad, Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah have all disappeared.
14 After Hezekiah had read the note from the king of Assyria, he took it to the temple and spread it out for the LORD to see.
15 Then he prayed:
16 LORD God All-Powerful of Israel, your throne is above the winged creatures. You created the heavens and the earth, and you alone rule the kingdoms of this world.
17 Just look and see how Sennacherib has insulted you, the living God.
18 It is true, our LORD, that Assyrian kings have turned nations into deserts.
19 They destroyed the idols of wood and stone that the people of those nations had made and worshiped.
20 But you are our LORD and our God! We ask you to keep us safe from the Assyrian king. Then everyone in every kingdom on earth will know that you are the only LORD.
21 I went to Hezekiah and told him that the LORD God of Israel had said: Hezekiah, you prayed to me about King Sennacherib of Assyria. Now this is what I say to that king: The people of Jerusalem hate and make fun of you; they laugh behind your back.
22 (SEE 37:21)
23 Sennacherib, you cursed, shouted, and sneered at me, the holy God of Israel.
24 You let your officials insult me, the Lord. And here is what you have said about yourself, "I led my chariots to the highest heights of Lebanon's mountains. I went deep into its forest, cutting down the best cedar and cypress trees.
25 I dried up every stream in the land of Egypt, and I drank water from wells I had dug."
26 Sennacherib, now listen to me, the LORD. I planned all of this long ago. And you don't even know that I alone am the one who decided that you would do these things. I let you make ruins of fortified cities.
27 Their people became weak, terribly confused. They were like wild flowers or like tender young grass growing on a flat roof or like a field of grain before it matures.
28 I know all about you, even how fiercely angry you are with me.
29 I have seen your pride and the tremendous hatred you have for me. Now I will put a hook in your nose, a bit in your mouth, then I will send you back to where you came from.
30 Hezekiah, I will tell you what's going to happen. This year you will eat crops that grow on their own, and the next year you will eat whatever springs up where those crops grew. But the third year, you will plant grain and vineyards, and you will eat what you harvest.
31 Those who survive in Judah will be like a vine that puts down deep roots and bears fruit.
32 I, the LORD All-Powerful, will see to it that some who live in Jerusalem will survive.
33 I promise that the king of Assyria won't get into Jerusalem, or shoot an arrow into the city, or even surround it and prepare to attack.
34 As surely as I am the LORD, he will return by the way he came and will never enter Jerusalem.
35 I will protect it for the sake of my own honor and because of the promise I made to my servant David.
36 The LORD sent an angel to the camp of the Assyrians, and he killed one hundred eighty-five thousand of them all in one night. The next morning, the camp was full of dead bodies.
37 After this, King Sennacherib went back to Assyria and lived in the city of Nineveh.
38 One day he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, when his sons, Adrammelech and Sharezer, killed him with their swords. They escaped to the land of Ararat, and his son Esarhaddon became king.
1 About this time, Hezekiah got sick and was almost dead. So I went in and told him, "The LORD says you won't ever get well. You are going to die, and so you had better start doing what needs to be done."
2 Hezekiah turned toward the wall and prayed,
3 "Don't forget that I have been faithful to you, LORD. I have obeyed you with all my heart, and I do whatever you say is right." After this, he cried hard.
4 Then the LORD sent me
5 with this message for Hezekiah: I am the LORD God, who was worshiped by your ancestor David. I heard you pray, and I saw you cry. I will let you live fifteen years more,
6 while I protect you and your city from the king of Assyria.
7 Now I will prove to you that I will keep my promise.
8 Do you see the shadow made by the setting sun on the stairway built for King Ahaz? I will make the shadow go back ten steps. Then the shadow went back ten steps.
9 This is what Hezekiah wrote after he got well:
10 I thought I would die during my best years and stay as a prisoner forever in the world of the dead.
11 I thought I would never again see you, my LORD, or any of the people who live on this earth.
12 My life was taken from me like the tent that a shepherd pulls up and moves. You cut me off like thread from a weaver's loom; you make a wreck of me day and night.
13 Until morning came, I thought you would crush my bones just like a hungry lion; both night and day you make a wreck of me.
14 I cry like a swallow; I mourn like a dove. My eyes are red from looking to you, LORD. I am terribly abused. Please come and help me.
15 There's nothing I can say in answer to you, since you are the one who has done this to me. My life has turned sour; I will limp until I die.
16 Your words and your deeds bring life to everyone, including me. Please make me healthy and strong again.
17 It was for my own good that I had such hard times. But your love protected me from doom in the deep pit, and you turned your eyes away from my sins.
18 No one in the world of the dead can thank you or praise you; none of those in the deep pit can hope for you to show them how faithful you are.
19 Only the living can thank you, as I am doing today. Each generation tells the next about your faithfulness.
20 You, LORD, will save me, and every day that we live we will sing in your temple to the music of stringed instruments.
21 I had told King Hezekiah's servants to put some mashed figs on the king's open sore, and he would get well.
22 Then Hezekiah asked for proof that he would again worship in the LORD's temple.
1 Merodach Baladan, the son of Baladan, was now king of Babylonia. And when he learned that Hezekiah was well, he sent messengers with letters and a gift for him.
2 Hezekiah welcomed the messengers and showed them all the silver, the gold, the spices, and the fine oils that were in his storehouse. He even showed them where he kept his weapons. Nothing in his palace or in his entire kingdom was kept hidden from them.
3 I asked Hezekiah, "Where did these men come from? What did they want?" "They came all the way from Babylonia," Hezekiah answered.
4 "What did you show them?" I asked. Hezekiah answered, "I showed them everything in my kingdom."
5 Then I told Hezekiah: I have a message for you from the LORD All-Powerful.
6 One day everything you and your ancestors have stored up will be taken to Babylonia. The LORD has promised that nothing will be left.
7 Some of your own sons will be taken to Babylonia, where they will be disgraced and made to serve in the king's palace.
8 Hezekiah thought, "At least our nation will be at peace for a while." So he told me, "The message you brought from the LORD is good."
1 Our God has said: "Encourage my people! Give them comfort.
2 Speak kindly to Jerusalem and announce: Your slavery is past; your punishment is over. I, the LORD, made you pay double for your sins."
3 Someone is shouting: "Clear a path in the desert! Make a straight road for the LORD our God.
4 Fill in the valleys; flatten every hill and mountain. Level the rough and rugged ground.
5 Then the glory of the LORD will appear for all to see. The LORD has promised this!"
6 Someone told me to shout, and I asked, "What should I shout?" We humans are merely grass, and we last no longer than wild flowers.
7 At the LORD's command, flowers and grass disappear, and so do we.
8 Flowers and grass fade away, but what our God has said will never change.
9 There is good news for the city of Zion. Shout it as loud as you can from the highest mountain. Don't be afraid to shout to the towns of Judah, "Your God is here!"
10 Look! The powerful LORD God is coming to rule with his mighty arm. He brings with him what he has taken in war, and he rewards his people.
11 The LORD cares for his nation, just as shepherds care for their flocks. He carries the lambs in his arms, while gently leading the mother sheep.
12 Did any of you measure the ocean by yourself or stretch out the sky with your own hands? Did you put the soil of the earth in a bucket or weigh the hills and mountains on balance scales?
13 Has anyone told the LORD what he must do or given him advice?
14 Did the LORD ask anyone to teach him wisdom and justice? Who gave him knowledge and understanding?
15 To the LORD, all nations are merely a drop in a bucket or dust on balance scales; all of the islands are but a handful of sand.
16 The cattle on Lebanon's mountains would not be enough to offer as a sacrifice to God, and the trees would not be enough for the fire.
17 God thinks of the nations as far less than nothing.
18 Who compares with God? Is anything like him?
19 Is an idol at all like God? It is made of bronze with a thin layer of gold, and decorated with silver.
20 Or special wood may be chosen because it doesn't rot-- then skilled hands take care to make an idol that won't fall on its face.
21 Don't you know? Haven't you heard? Isn't it clear that God created the world?
22 God is the one who rules the whole earth, and we that live here are merely insects. He spread out the heavens like a curtain or an open tent.
23 God brings down rulers and turns them into nothing.
24 They are like flowers freshly sprung up and starting to grow. But when God blows on them, they wilt and are carried off like straw in a storm.
25 The holy God asks, "Who compares with me? Is anyone my equal?"
26 Look at the evening sky! Who created the stars? Who gave them each a name? Who leads them like an army? The LORD is so powerful that none of the stars are ever missing.
27 You people of Israel, say, "God pays no attention to us! He doesn't care if we are treated unjustly." But how can you say that?
28 Don't you know? Haven't you heard? The LORD is the eternal God, Creator of the earth. He never gets weary or tired; his wisdom cannot be measured.
29 The LORD gives strength to those who are weary.
30 Even young people get tired, then stumble and fall.
31 But those who trust the LORD will find new strength. They will be strong like eagles soaring upward on wings; they will walk and run without getting tired.
1 Be silent and listen, every island in the sea. Have courage and come near, every one of you nations. Let's settle this matter!
2 Who appointed this ruler from the east? Who puts nations and kings in his power? His sword and his arrows turn them to dust blown by the wind.
3 He goes after them so quickly that his feet barely touch the ground-- he doesn't even get hurt.
4 Who makes these things happen? Who controls human events? I do! I am the LORD. I was there at the beginning; I will be there at the end.
5 Islands and foreign nations saw what I did and trembled as they came near.
6 Worshipers of idols comfort each other, saying, "Don't worry!"
7 Woodcarvers, goldsmiths, and other workers encourage one another and say, "We've done a great job!" Then they nail the idol down, so it won't fall over.
8 Israel, you are my servant. I chose you, the family of my friend Abraham.
9 From far across the earth I brought you here and said, "You are my chosen servant. I haven't forgotten you."
10 Don't be afraid. I am with you. Don't tremble with fear. I am your God. I will make you strong, as I protect you with my arm and give you victories.
11 Everyone who hates you will be terribly disgraced; those who attack will vanish into thin air.
12 You will look around for those brutal enemies, but you won't find them because they will be gone.
13 I am the LORD your God. I am holding your hand, so don't be afraid. I am here to help you.
14 People of Israel, don't worry, though others may say, "Israel is only a worm!" I am the holy God of Israel, who saves and protects you.
15 I will let you be like a log covered with sharp spikes. You will grind and crush every mountain and hill until they turn to dust.
16 A strong wind will scatter them in all directions. Then you will celebrate and praise me, your LORD, the holy God of Israel.
17 When the poor and needy are dying of thirst and cannot find water, I, the LORD God of Israel, will come to their rescue. I won't forget them.
18 I will make rivers flow on mountain peaks. I will send streams to fill the valleys. Dry and barren land will flow with springs and become a lake.
19 I will fill the desert with all kinds of trees-- cedars, acacias, and myrtles; olive and cypress trees; fir trees and pines.
20 Everyone will see this and know that I, the holy LORD God of Israel, created it all.
21 I am the LORD, the King of Israel! Come argue your case with me. Present your evidence.
22 Come near me, you idols. Tell us about the past, and we will think about it. Tell us about the future, so we will know what is going to happen.
23 Prove that you are gods by making your predictions come true. Do something good or evil, so we can be amazed and terrified.
24 You idols are nothing, and you are powerless. To worship you would be disgusting.
25 I, the LORD, appointed a ruler in the north; now he comes from the east to honor my name. He tramples kings like mud, as potters trample clay.
26 Did any of you idols predict what would happen? Did any of you get it right? None of you told about this or even spoke a word.
27 I was the first to tell the people of Jerusalem, "Look, it's happening!" I was the one who announced this good news to Zion.
28 None of these idols are able to give advice or answer questions.
29 They are nothing, and they can do nothing-- they are less than a passing breeze.
1 Here is my servant! I have made him strong. He is my chosen one; I am pleased with him. I have given him my Spirit, and he will bring justice to the nations.
2 He won't shout or yell or call out in the streets.
3 He won't break off a bent reed or put out a dying flame, but he will make sure that justice is done.
4 He won't quit or give up until he brings justice everywhere on earth, and people in foreign nations long for his teaching.
5 I am the LORD God. I created the heavens like an open tent above. I made the earth and everything that grows on it. I am the source of life for all who live on this earth, so listen to what I say.
6 I chose you to bring justice, and I am here at your side. I selected and sent you to bring light and my promise of hope to the nations.
7 You will give sight to the blind; you will set prisoners free from dark dungeons.
8 My name is the LORD! I won't let idols or humans share my glory and praise.
9 Everything has happened just as I said it would; now I will announce what will happen next.
10 Tell the whole world to sing a new song to the LORD! Tell those who sail the ocean and those who live far away to join in the praise.
11 Tell the tribes of the desert and everyone in the mountains to celebrate and sing.
12 Let them announce his praises everywhere.
13 The LORD is marching out like an angry soldier, shouting with all his might while attacking his enemies.
14 For a long time, I, the LORD, have held my temper; now I will scream and groan like a woman giving birth.
15 I will destroy the mountains and what grows on them; I will dry up rivers and ponds.
16 I will lead the blind on roads they have never known; I will guide them on paths they have never traveled. Their road is dark and rough, but I will give light to keep them from stumbling. This is my solemn promise.
17 Everyone who worships idols as though they were gods will be terribly ashamed.
18 You people are deaf and blind, but the LORD commands you to listen and to see.
19 No one is as blind or deaf as his messenger, his chosen servant,
20 who sees and hears so much, but pays no attention.
21 The LORD always does right, and so he wanted his Law to be greatly praised.
22 But his people were trapped and imprisoned in holes with no one to rescue them. All they owned had been taken, and no one was willing to give it back.
23 Why won't his people ever learn to listen?
24 Israel sinned and refused to obey the LORD or follow his instructions. So the LORD let them be robbed of everything they owned.
25 He was furious with them and punished their nation with the fires of war. Still they paid no attention. They didn't even care when they were surrounded and scorched by flames.
1 Descendants of Jacob, I, the LORD, created you and formed your nation. Israel, don't be afraid. I have rescued you. I have called you by name; now you belong to me.
2 When you cross deep rivers, I will be with you, and you won't drown. When you walk through fire, you won't be burned or scorched by the flames.
3 I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, the God who saves you. I gave up Egypt, Ethiopia, and the region of Seba in exchange for you.
4 To me, you are very dear, and I love you. That's why I gave up nations and people to rescue you.
5 Don't be afraid! I am with you. From both east and west I will bring you together.
6 I will say to the north and to the south, "Free my sons and daughters! Let them return from distant lands.
7 They are my people-- I created each of them to bring honor to me."
8 Bring my people together. They have eyes and ears, but they can't see or hear.
9 Tell everyone of every nation to gather around. None of them can honestly say, "We told you so!" If someone heard them say this, then tell us about it now.
10 My people, you are my witnesses and my chosen servant. I want you to know me, to trust me, and understand that I alone am God. I have always been God; there can be no others.
11 I alone am the LORD; only I can rescue you.
12 I promised to save you, and I kept my promise. You are my witnesses that no other god did this. I, the LORD, have spoken.
13 I am God now and forever. No one can snatch you from me or stand in my way.
14 I, the LORD, will rescue you! I am Israel's holy God, and this is my promise: For your sake, I will send an army against Babylon to drag its people away, crying as they go.
15 I am the LORD, your holy God, Israel's Creator and King.
16 I am the one who cut a path through the mighty ocean.
17 I sent an army to chase you with chariots and horses; now they lie dead, unable to move. They are like an oil lamp with the flame snuffed out.
18 Forget what happened long ago! Don't think about the past.
19 I am creating something new. There it is! Do you see it? I have put roads in deserts, streams in thirsty lands.
20 Every wild animal honors me, even jackals and owls. I provide water in deserts-- streams in thirsty lands for my chosen people.
21 I made them my own nation, so they would praise me.
22 I, the LORD, said to Israel: You have become weary, but not from worshiping me.
23 You have not honored me by sacrificing sheep or other animals. And I have not burdened you with demands for sacrifices or sweet-smelling incense.
24 You have not brought delicious spices for me or given me the best part of your sacrificed animals. Instead, you burden me down with your terrible sins.
25 But I wipe away your sins because of who I am. And so, I will forget the wrongs you have done.
26 Meet me in court! State your case and prove that you are right.
27 Your earliest ancestor and all of your leaders rebelled against me.
28 That's why I don't allow your priests to serve me; I let Israel be destroyed and your people disgraced.
1 People of Israel, I have chosen you as my servant.
2 I am your Creator. You were in my care even before you were born. Israel, don't be terrified! You are my chosen servant, my very favorite.
3 I will bless the thirsty land by sending streams of water; I will bless your descendants by giving them my Spirit.
4 They will spring up like grass or like willow trees near flowing streams.
5 They will worship me and become my people. They will write my name on the back of their hands.
6 I am the LORD All-Powerful, the first and the last, the one and only God. Israel, I have rescued you! I am your King.
7 Can anyone compare with me? If so, let them speak up and tell me now. Let them say what has happened since I made my nation long ago, and let them tell what is going to happen.
8 Don't tremble with fear! Didn't I tell you long ago? Didn't you hear me? I alone am God-- no one else is a mighty rock.
9 Those people who make idols are nothing themselves, and the idols they treasure are just as worthless. Worshipers of idols are blind, stupid, and foolish.
10 Why make an idol or an image that can't do a thing?
11 Everyone who makes idols and all who worship them are mere humans, who will end up sadly disappointed. Let them face me in court and be terrified.
12 A metalworker shapes an idol by using a hammer and heat from the fire. In his powerful hand he holds a hammer, as he pounds the metal into the proper shape. But he gets hungry and thirsty and loses his strength.
13 Some woodcarver measures a piece of wood, then draws an outline. The idol is carefully carved with each detail exact. At last it looks like a person and is placed in a temple.
14 Either cedar, cypress, oak, or any tree from the forest may be chosen. Or even a pine tree planted by the woodcarver and watered by the rain.
15 Some of the wood is used to make a fire for heating or for cooking. One piece is made into an idol, then the woodcarver bows down and worships it.
16 He enjoys the warm fire and the meat that was roasted over the burning coals.
17 Afterwards, he bows down to worship the wooden idol. "Protect me!" he says. "You are my god."
18 Those who worship idols are stupid and blind!
19 They don't have enough sense to say to themselves, "I made a fire with half of the wood and cooked my bread and meat on it. Then I made something worthless with the other half. Why worship a block of wood?"
20 How can anyone be stupid enough to trust something that can be burned to ashes? No one can save themselves like that. Don't they realize that the idols they hold in their hands are not really gods?
21 People of Israel, you are my servant, so remember all of this. Israel, I created you, and you are my servant. I won't forget you.
22 Turn back to me! I have rescued you and swept away your sins as though they were clouds.
23 Tell the heavens and the earth to start singing! Tell the mountains and every tree in the forest to join in the song! The LORD has rescued his people; now they will worship him.
24 Israel, I am your LORD. I am your source of life, and I have rescued you. I created everything from the sky above to the earth below.
25 I make liars of false prophets and fools of fortunetellers. I take human wisdom and turn it into nonsense.
26 I will make the message of my prophets come true. They are saying, "Jerusalem will be filled with people, and the LORD will rebuild the towns of Judah."
27 I am the one who commands the sea and its streams to run dry.
28 I am also the one who says, "Cyrus will lead my people and obey my orders. Jerusalem and the temple will be rebuilt."
1 The LORD said to Cyrus, his chosen one: I have taken hold of your right hand to help you capture nations and remove kings from power. City gates will open for you; not one will stay closed.
2 As I lead you, I will level mountains and break the iron bars on bronze gates of cities.
3 I will give you treasures hidden in dark and secret places. Then you will know that I, the LORD God of Israel, have called you by name.
4 Cyrus, you don't even know me! But I have called you by name and highly honored you because of Israel, my chosen servant.
5 Only I am the LORD! There are no other gods. I have made you strong, though you don't know me.
6 Now everyone from east to west will learn that I am the LORD. No other gods are real.
7 I create light and darkness, happiness and sorrow. I, the LORD, do all of this.
8 Tell the heavens to send down justice like showers of rain. Prepare the earth for my saving power to sprout and produce justice that I, the LORD, create.
9 Israel, you have no right to argue with your Creator. You are merely a clay pot shaped by a potter. The clay doesn't ask, "Why did you make me this way? Where are the handles?"
10 Children don't have the right to demand of their parents, "What have you done to make us what we are?"
11 I am the LORD, the Creator, the holy God of Israel. Do you dare question me about my own nation or about what I have done?
12 I created the world and covered it with people; I stretched out the sky and filled it with stars.
13 I have done the right thing by placing Cyrus in power, and I will make the roads easy for him to follow. I am the LORD All-Powerful! Cyrus will rebuild my city and set my people free without being paid a thing. I, the LORD, have spoken.
14 My people, I, the LORD, promise that the riches of Egypt and the treasures of Ethiopia will belong to you. You will force into slavery those tall people of Seba. They will bow down and say, "The only true God is with you; there are no other gods."
15 People of Israel, your God is a mystery, though he alone can save.
16 Anyone who makes idols will be confused and terribly disgraced.
17 But Israel, I, the LORD, will always keep you safe and free from shame.
18 The LORD alone is God! He created the heavens and made a world where people can live, instead of creating an empty desert. The LORD alone is God; there are no others.
19 The LORD did not speak in a dark secret place or command Jacob's descendants to search for him in vain. The LORD speaks the truth, and this is what he says
20 to every survivor from every nation: "Gather around me! Learn how senseless it is to worship wooden idols or pray to helpless gods.
21 "Why don't you get together and meet me in court? Didn't I tell you long ago what would happen? I am the only God! There are no others. I bring about justice, and have the power to save.
22 "I invite the whole world to turn to me and be saved. I alone am God! No others are real.
23 I have made a solemn promise, one that won't be broken: Everyone will bow down and worship me.
24 They will admit that I alone can bring about justice. Everyone who is angry with me will be terribly ashamed and will turn to me.
25 I, the LORD, will give victory and great honor to the people of Israel."
1 The gods Bel and Nebo are down on their knees, as wooden images of them are carried away on weary animals.
2 They are down on their knees to rescue the heavy load, but the images are still taken to a foreign country.
3 You survivors in Israel, listen to me, the LORD. Since the day you were born, I have carried you along.
4 I will still be the same when you are old and gray, and I will take care of you. I created you. I will carry you and always keep you safe.
5 Can anyone compare with me? Is anyone my equal?
6 Some people hire a goldsmith and give silver and gold to be formed into an idol for them to worship.
7 They carry the idol on their shoulders, then put it on a stand, but it cannot move. They call out to the idol when they are in trouble, but it doesn't answer, and it cannot help.
8 Now keep this in mind, you sinful people. And don't ever forget it.
9 I alone am God! There are no other gods; no one is like me. Think about what happened many years ago.
10 From the very beginning, I told what would happen long before it took place. I kept my word
11 and brought someone from a distant land to do what I wanted. He attacked from the east, like a hawk swooping down. Now I will keep my promise and do what I planned.
12 You people are stubborn and far from being safe, so listen to me.
13 I will soon come to save you. I am not far away and will waste no time; I take pride in Israel and will save Jerusalem.
1 City of Babylon, You are delicate and untouched, but that will change. Surrender your royal power and sit in the dirt.
2 Start grinding grain! Take off your veil. Strip off your fancy clothes and cross over rivers.
3 You will suffer the shame of going naked, because I will take revenge, and no one can escape.
4 I am the LORD All-Powerful, the holy God of Israel. I am their Savior.
5 Babylon, be silent! Sit in the dark. No longer will nations accept you as their queen.
6 I was angry with my people. So I let you take their land and bring disgrace on them. You showed them no mercy, but were especially cruel to those who were old.
7 You thought that you would be queen forever. You didn't care what you did; it never entered your mind that you might get caught.
8 You think that you alone are all-powerful, that you won't be a widow or lose your children. All you care about is pleasure, but listen to what I say.
9 Your magic powers and charms will suddenly fail, then you will be a widow and lose your children.
10 You hid behind evil like a shield and said, "No one can see me!" You were fooled by your wisdom and your knowledge; you felt sure that you alone were in full control.
11 But without warning, disaster will strike-- and your magic charms won't help at all.
12 Keep using your magic powers and your charms as you have always done. Maybe--just maybe-- you will frighten somebody!
13 You have worn yourself out, asking for advice from those who study the stars and tell the future month after month. Go ask them how to be saved from what will happen.
14 People who trust the stars are as helpless as straw in a flaming fire. No one can even keep warm, sitting by a fire that feeds only on straw.
15 These are the fortunetellers you have done business with all of your life. But they don't know where they are going, and they can't save you.
1 People of Israel, you come from Jacob's family and the tribe of Judah. You claim to worship me, the LORD God of Israel, but you are lying.
2 You call Jerusalem your home and say you depend on me, the LORD All-Powerful, the God of Israel.
3 Long ago I announced what was going to be, then without warning, I made it happen.
4 I knew you were stubborn and hardheaded.
5 And I told you these things, so that when they happened you would not say, "The idols we worship did this."
6 You heard what I said, and you have seen it happen. Now admit that it's true! I will show you secrets you have never known.
7 Today I am doing something new, something you cannot say you have heard before.
8 You have never been willing to listen to what I say; from the moment of your birth, I knew you would rebel.
9 I, the LORD, am true to myself; I will be praised for not punishing and destroying you.
10 I tested you in hard times just as silver is refined in a heated furnace.
11 I did this because of who I am. I refuse to be dishonored or share my praise with any other god.
12 Israel, my chosen people, listen to me. I alone am the LORD, the first and the last.
13 With my own hand I created the earth and stretched out the sky. They obey my every command.
14 Gather around me, all of you! Listen to what I say. Did any of your idols predict this would happen? Did they say that my friend would do what I want done to Babylonia?
15 I was the one who chose him. I have brought him this far, and he will be successful.
16 Come closer and listen! I have never kept secret the things I have said, and I was here before time began. By the power of his Spirit the LORD God has sent me
17 with this message: People of Israel, I am the holy LORD God, the one who rescues you. For your own good, I teach you, and I lead you along the right path.
18 How I wish that you had obeyed my commands! Your success and good fortune would then have overflowed like a flooding river.
19 Your nation would be blessed with more people than there are grains of sand along the seashore. And I would never have let your country be destroyed.
20 Now leave Babylon! Celebrate as you go. Be happy and shout for everyone to hear, "The LORD has rescued his servant Israel!
21 He led us through the desert and made water flow from a rock to satisfy our thirst.
22 But the LORD has promised that none who are evil will live in peace."
1 Everyone, listen, even you foreign nations across the sea. The LORD chose me and gave me a name before I was born.
2 He made my words pierce like a sharp sword or a pointed arrow; he kept me safely hidden in the palm of his hand.
3 The LORD said to me, "Israel, you are my servant; and because of you I will be highly honored."
4 I said to myself, "I'm completely worn out; my time has been wasted. But I did it for the LORD God, and he will reward me."
5 Even before I was born, the LORD God chose me to serve him and to lead back the people of Israel. So the LORD has honored me and made me strong.
6 Now the LORD says to me, "It isn't enough for you to be merely my servant. You must do more than lead back survivors from the tribes of Israel. I have placed you here as a light for other nations; you must take my saving power to everyone on earth."
7 Israel, I am the holy LORD God, the one who rescues you. You are slaves of rulers and of a nation who despises you. Now this is what I promise: Kings and rulers will honor you by kneeling at your feet. You can trust me! I am your LORD, the holy God of Israel, and you are my chosen ones.
8 This is what the LORD says: I will answer your prayers because I have set a time when I will help by coming to save you. I have chosen you to take my promise of hope to other nations. You will rebuild the country from its ruins, then people will come and settle there.
9 You will set prisoners free from dark dungeons to see the light of day. On their way home, they will find plenty to eat, even on barren hills.
10 They won't go hungry or get thirsty; they won't be bothered by the scorching sun or hot desert winds. I will be merciful while leading them along to streams of water.
11 I will level the mountains and make roads.
12 Then my people will return from distant lands in the north and the west and from the city of Syene.
13 Tell the heavens and the earth to celebrate and sing; command every mountain to join in the song. The LORD's people have suffered, but he has shown mercy and given them comfort.
14 The people of Zion said, "The LORD has turned away and forgotten us."
15 The LORD answered, "Could a mother forget a child who nurses at her breast? Could she fail to love an infant who came from her own body? Even if a mother could forget, I will never forget you.
16 A picture of your city is drawn on my hand. You are always in my thoughts!
17 "Your city will be built faster than it was destroyed -- those who attacked it will retreat and leave.
18 Look around! You will see your people coming home. As surely as I live, I, the LORD, promise that your city with its people will be as lovely as a bride wearing her jewelry."
19 Jerusalem is now in ruins! Nothing is left of the city. But it will be rebuilt and soon overcrowded; its cruel enemies will be gone far away.
20 Jerusalem is a woman whose children were born while she was in deep sorrow over the loss of her husband. Now those children will come and seek room in the crowded city,
21 and Jerusalem will ask, "Am I really their mother? How could I have given birth when I was still mourning in a foreign land? Who raised these children? Where have they come from?"
22 The LORD God says: "I will soon give a signal for the nations to return your sons and your daughters to the arms of Jerusalem.
23 The kings and queens of those nations where they were raised will come and bow down. They will take care of you just like a slave taking care of a child. Then you will know that I am the LORD. You won't be disappointed if you trust me."
24 Is it possible to rescue victims from someone strong and cruel?
25 But the LORD has promised to fight on our side and to rescue our children from those strong and violent enemies.
26 He will make those cruel people dine on their own flesh and get drunk from drinking their own blood. Then everyone will know that the LORD is our Savior; the powerful God of Israel has rescued his people.
1 The LORD says, "Children, I didn't divorce your mother or sell you to pay debts; I divorced her and sold you because of your sins.
2 I came and called out, but you didn't answer. Have I lost my power to rescue and save? At my command oceans and rivers turn into deserts; fish rot and stink for lack of water.
3 I make the sky turn dark like the sackcloth you wear at funerals."
4 The LORD God gives me the right words to encourage the weary. Each morning he awakens me eager to learn his teaching;
5 he made me willing to listen and not rebel or run away.
6 I let them beat my back and pull out my beard. I didn't turn aside when they insulted me and spit in my face.
7 But the LORD God keeps me from being disgraced. So I refuse to give up, because I know God will never let me down.
8 My protector is nearby; no one can stand here to accuse me of wrong.
9 The LORD God will help me and prove I am innocent. My accusers will wear out like moth-eaten clothes.
10 None of you respect the LORD or obey his servant. You walk in the dark instead of the light; you don't trust the name of the LORD your God.
11 Go ahead and walk in the light of the fires you have set. But with his own hand, the LORD will punish you and make you suffer.
1 If you want to do right and obey the LORD, follow Abraham's example. He was the rock from which you were chipped.
2 God chose Abraham and Sarah to be your ancestors. The LORD blessed Abraham, and from that one man came many descendants.
3 Though Zion is in ruins, the LORD will bring comfort, and the city will be as lovely as the garden of Eden that he provided. Then Zion will celebrate; it will be thankful and sing joyful songs.
4 The LORD says: You are my people and nation! So pay attention to me. My teaching will cause justice to shine like a light for every nation.
5 Those who live across the sea are eagerly waiting for me to rescue them. I am strong and ready; soon I will come to save and to rule all nations.
6 Look closely at the sky! Stare at the earth. The sky will vanish like smoke; the earth will wear out like clothes. Everyone on this earth will die like flies. But my victory will last; my saving power never ends.
7 If you want to do right and to obey my teaching with all your heart, then pay close attention. Don't be discouraged when others insult you and say hurtful things.
8 They will be eaten away like a moth-eaten coat. But my victory will last; my saving power will never end.
9 Wake up! Do something, LORD. Be strong and ready. Wake up! Do what you did for our people long ago. Didn't you chop up Rahab the monster?
10 Didn't you dry up the deep sea and make a road for your people to follow safely across?
11 Now those you have rescued will return to Jerusalem, singing on their way. They will be crowned with great happiness, never again to be burdened with sadness and sorrow.
12 I am the LORD, the one who encourages you. Why are you afraid of mere humans? They dry up and die like grass.
13 I spread out the heavens and laid foundations for the earth. But you have forgotten me, your LORD and Creator. All day long you were afraid of those who were angry and hoped to abuse you. Where are they now?
14 Everyone crying out in pain will be quickly set free; they will be rescued from the power of death and never go hungry.
15 I will help them because I am your God, the LORD All-Powerful, who makes the ocean roar.
16 I have told you what to say, and I will keep you safe in the palm of my hand. I spread out the heavens and laid foundations for the earth. Now I say, "Jerusalem, your people are mine."
17 Jerusalem, wake up! Stand up! You've drunk too much from the cup filled with the LORD's anger. You have swallowed every drop, and you can't walk straight.
18 Not one of your many children is there to guide you or to offer a helping hand.
19 You have been destroyed by war and by famine; I cannot comfort you.
20 The LORD your God is angry, and on every street corner your children lie helpless, like deer trapped in nets.
21 You are in trouble and drunk, but not from wine. So pay close attention
22 to the LORD your God, who defends you and says, "I have taken from your hands the cup filled with my anger that made you drunk. You will never be forced to drink it again.
23 Instead I will give it to your brutal enemies, who treated you like dirt and walked all over you."
1 Jerusalem, wake up! Stand up and be strong. Holy city of Zion, dress in your best clothes. Those foreigners who ruined your sacred city won't bother you again.
2 Zion, rise from the dirt! Free yourself from the rope around your neck.
3 The LORD says: My people, you were sold, but not for money; now you will be set free, but not for a payment.
4 Long ago you went to Egypt where you lived as foreigners. Then Assyria was cruel to you,
5 and now another nation has taken you prisoner for no reason at all. Your leaders groan with pain, and day after day my own name is cursed.
6 My people, you will learn who I am and who is speaking because I am here.
7 What a beautiful sight! On the mountains a messenger announces to Jerusalem, "Good news! You're saved. There will be peace. Your God is now King."
8 Everyone on guard duty, sing and celebrate! Look! You can see the LORD returning to Zion.
9 Jerusalem, rise from the ruins! Join in the singing. The LORD has given comfort to his people; he comes to your rescue.
10 The LORD has shown all nations his mighty strength; now everyone will see the saving power of our God.
11 Leave the city of Babylon! Don't touch anything filthy. Wash yourselves. Be ready to carry back everything sacred that belongs to the LORD.
12 You won't need to run. No one is chasing you. The LORD God of Israel will lead and protect you from enemy attacks.
13 The LORD says: My servant will succeed! He will be given great praise and the highest honors.
14 Many were horrified at what happened to him. But everyone who saw him was even more horrified because he suffered until he no longer looked human.
15 My servant will make nations worthy to worship me; kings will be silent as they bow in wonder. They will see and think about things they have never seen or thought about before.
1 Has anyone believed us or seen the mighty power of the LORD in action?
2 Like a young plant or a root that sprouts in dry ground, the servant grew up obeying the LORD. He wasn't some handsome king. Nothing about the way he looked made him attractive to us.
3 He was hated and rejected; his life was filled with sorrow and terrible suffering. No one wanted to look at him. We despised him and said, "He is a nobody!"
4 He suffered and endured great pain for us, but we thought his suffering was punishment from God.
5 He was wounded and crushed because of our sins; by taking our punishment, he made us completely well.
6 All of us were like sheep that had wandered off. We had each gone our own way, but the LORD gave him the punishment we deserved.
7 He was painfully abused, but he did not complain. He was silent like a lamb being led to the butcher, as quiet as a sheep having its wool cut off.
8 He was condemned to death without a fair trial. Who could have imagined what would happen to him? His life was taken away because of the sinful things my people had done.
9 He wasn't dishonest or violent, but he was buried in a tomb of cruel and rich people.
10 The LORD decided his servant would suffer as a sacrifice to take away the sin and guilt of others. Now the servant will live to see his own descendants. He did everything the LORD had planned.
11 By suffering, the servant will learn the true meaning of obeying the LORD. Although he is innocent, he will take the punishment for the sins of others, so that many of them will no longer be guilty.
12 The LORD will reward him with honor and power for sacrificing his life. Others thought he was a sinner, but he suffered for our sins and asked God to forgive us.
1 Sing and shout, even though you have never had children! The LORD has promised that you will have more children than someone married for a long time.
2 Make your tents larger! Spread out the tent pegs; fasten them firmly.
3 You and your descendants will take over the land of other nations. You will settle in towns that are now in ruins.
4 Don't be afraid or ashamed and don't be discouraged. You won't be disappointed. Forget how sinful you were when you were young; stop feeling ashamed for being left a widow.
5 The LORD All-Powerful, the Holy God of Israel, rules all the earth. He is your Creator and husband, and he will rescue you.
6 You were like a young wife, brokenhearted and crying because her husband had divorced her. But the LORD your God says, "I am taking you back!
7 I rejected you for a while, but with love and tenderness I will embrace you again.
8 For a while, I turned away in furious anger. Now I will have mercy and love you forever! I, your protector and LORD, make this promise."
9 I once promised Noah that I would never again destroy the earth by a flood. Now I have promised that I will never again get angry and punish you.
10 Every mountain and hill may disappear. But I will always be kind and merciful to you; I won't break my agreement to give your nation peace.
11 Jerusalem, you are sad and discouraged, tossed around in a storm. But I, the LORD, will rebuild your city with precious stones; for your foundation I will use blue sapphires.
12 Your fortresses will be built of rubies, your gates of jewels, and your walls of gems.
13 I will teach your children and make them successful.
14 You will be built on fairness with no fears of injustice; every one of your worries will be taken far from you.
15 I will never send anyone to attack your city, and you will make prisoners of those who do attack.
16 Don't forget that I created metalworkers who make weapons over burning coals. I also created armies that can bring destruction.
17 Weapons made to attack you won't be successful; words spoken against you won't hurt at all. My servants, Jerusalem is yours! I, the LORD, promise to bless you with victory.
1 If you are thirsty, come and drink water! If you don't have any money, come, eat what you want! Drink wine and milk without paying a cent.
2 Why waste your money on what really isn't food? Why work hard for something that doesn't satisfy? Listen carefully to me, and you will enjoy the very best foods.
3 Pay close attention! Come to me and live. I will promise you the eternal love and loyalty that I promised David.
4 I made him the leader and ruler of the nations; he was my witness to them.
5 You will call out to nations you have never known. And they have never known you, but they will come running because I am the LORD, the holy God of Israel, and I have honored you.
6 Turn to the LORD! He can still be found. Call out to God! He is near.
7 Give up your crooked ways and your evil thoughts. Return to the LORD our God. He will be merciful and forgive your sins.
8 The LORD says: "My thoughts and my ways are not like yours.
9 Just as the heavens are higher than the earth, my thoughts and my ways are higher than yours.
10 "Rain and snow fall from the sky. But they don't return without watering the earth that produces seeds to plant and grain to eat.
11 That's how it is with my words. They don't return to me without doing everything I send them to do."
12 When you are set free, you will celebrate and travel home in peace. Mountains and hills will sing as you pass by, and trees will clap.
13 Cypress and myrtle trees will grow in fields once covered by thorns. And then those trees will stand as a lasting witness to the glory of the LORD.
1 The LORD said: Be honest and fair! Soon I will come to save you; my saving power will be seen everywhere on earth.
2 I will bless everyone who respects the Sabbath and refuses to do wrong.
3 Foreigners who worship me must not say, "The LORD won't let us be part of his people." Men who are unable to become fathers must no longer say, "We are dried-up trees."
4 To them, I, the LORD, say: Respect the Sabbath, obey me completely, and keep our agreement.
5 Then I will set up monuments in my temple with your names written on them. This will be much better than having children, because these monuments will stand there forever.
6 Foreigners will follow me. They will love me and worship in my name; they will respect the Sabbath and keep our agreement.
7 I will bring them to my holy mountain, where they will celebrate in my house of worship. Their sacrifices and offerings will always be welcome on my altar. Then my house will be known as a house of worship for all nations.
8 I, the LORD, promise to bring together my people who were taken away, and let them join the others.
9 Come from the forest, you wild animals! Attack and gobble down your victims.
10 You leaders of Israel should be watchdogs, protecting my people. But you can't see a thing, and you never warn them. Dozing and daydreaming are all you ever do.
11 You stupid leaders are a pack of hungry and greedy dogs that never get enough. You are shepherds who mistreat your own sheep for selfish gain.
12 You say to each other, "Let's drink till we're drunk! Tomorrow we'll do it again. We'll really enjoy ourselves."
1 God's faithful people are dragged off and killed, and no one even cares. Evil sweeps them away,
2 but in death they find peace for obeying God.
3 You people are unfaithful! You go to fortunetellers, and you worship idols. Now pay close attention!
4 Who are you making fun of? Who are you sneering at? Look how your sins have made fools of you.
5 All you think about is sex under those green trees where idols are worshiped. You sacrifice your children on altars built in valleys under rocky slopes.
6 You have chosen to worship idols made of stone; you have given them offerings of wine and grain. Should I be pleased?
7 You have spread out your beds on the tops of high mountains, where you sacrifice to idols.
8 Even in your homes you have placed pagan symbols all around your huge beds. Yes, you have rejected me, sold yourselves to your lovers, and gone to bed with them.
9 You smear on olive oil and all kinds of perfume to worship the god Molech. You even seek advice from spirits of the dead.
10 Though you tired yourself out by running after idols, you refused to stop. Your desires were so strong that they kept you going.
11 Did you forget about me and become unfaithful because you were more afraid of someone else? Have I been silent so long that you no longer fear me?
12 You think you're so good, but I'll point out the truth.
13 Ask your idols to save you when you are in trouble. Be careful though-- it takes only a faint breath to blow them over. But if you come to me for protection, this land and my holy mountain will always belong to you.
14 The LORD says, "Clear the road! Get it ready for my people."
15 Our holy God lives forever in the highest heavens, and this is what he says: Though I live high above in the holy place, I am here to help those who are humble and depend only on me.
16 My people, I won't stay angry and keep on accusing you. After all, I am your Creator. I don't want you to give up in complete despair.
17 Your greed made me furious. That's why I punished you and refused to be found, while you kept returning to your old sinful ways.
18 I know what you are like! But I will heal you, lead you, and give you comfort, until those who are mourning
19 start singing my praises. No matter where you are, I, the LORD, will heal you and give you peace.
20 The wicked are a restless sea tossing up mud.
21 But I, the LORD, have promised that none who are evil will live in peace.
1 Shout the message! Don't hold back. Say to my people Israel: You've sinned! You've turned against the LORD.
2 Day after day, you worship him and seem eager to learn his teachings. You act like a nation that wants to do right by obeying his laws. You ask him about justice, and say you enjoy worshiping the LORD.
3 You wonder why the LORD pays no attention when you go without eating and act humble. But on those same days that you give up eating, you think only of yourselves and abuse your workers.
4 You even get angry and ready to fight. No wonder God won't listen to your prayers!
5 Do you think the LORD wants you to give up eating and to act as humble as a bent-over bush? Or to dress in sackcloth and sit in ashes? Is this really what he wants on a day of worship?
6 I'll tell you what it really means to worship the LORD. Remove the chains of prisoners who are chained unjustly. Free those who are abused!
7 Share your food with everyone who is hungry; share your home with the poor and homeless. Give clothes to those in need; don't turn away your relatives.
8 Then your light will shine like the dawning sun, and you will quickly be healed. Your honesty will protect you as you advance, and the glory of the LORD will defend you from behind.
9 When you beg the LORD for help, he will answer, "Here I am!" Don't mistreat others or falsely accuse them or say something cruel.
10 Give your food to the hungry and care for the homeless. Then your light will shine in the dark; your darkest hour will be like the noonday sun.
11 The LORD will always guide you and provide good things to eat when you are in the desert. He will make you healthy. You will be like a garden that has plenty of water or like a stream that never runs dry.
12 You will rebuild those houses left in ruins for years; you will be known as a builder and repairer of city walls and streets.
13 But first, you must start respecting the Sabbath as a joyful day of worship. You must stop doing and saying whatever you please on this special day.
14 Then you will truly enjoy knowing the LORD. He will let you rule from the highest mountains and bless you with the land of your ancestor Jacob. The LORD has spoken!
1 The LORD hasn't lost his powerful strength; he can still hear and answer prayers.
2 Your sins are the roadblock between you and your God. That's why he doesn't answer your prayers or let you see his face.
3 Your talk is filled with lies and plans for violence; every finger on your hands is covered with blood.
4 You falsely accuse others and tell lies in court; sin and trouble are the names of your children.
5 You eat the deadly eggs of poisonous snakes, and more snakes crawl out from the eggs left to hatch. You weave spider webs,
6 but you can't make clothes with those webs or hide behind them. You're sinful and brutal.
7 You hurry off to do wrong or murder innocent victims. All you think about is sin; you leave ruin and destruction wherever you go.
8 You don't know how to live in peace or to be fair with others. The roads you make are crooked; your followers cannot find peace.
9 No one has come to defend us or to bring about justice. We hoped for a day of sunshine, but all we found was a dark, gloomy night.
10 We feel our way along, as if we were blind; we stumble at noon, as if it were night. We can see no better than someone dead.
11 We growl like bears and mourn like doves. We hope for justice and victory, but they escape us.
12 How often have we sinned and turned against you, the LORD God? Our sins condemn us! We have done wrong.
13 We have rebelled and refused to follow you. Our hearts were deceitful, and so we lied; we planned to abuse others and turn our backs on you.
14 Injustice is everywhere; justice seems far away. Truth is chased out of court; honesty is shoved aside.
15 Everyone tells lies; those who turn from crime end up ruined. When the LORD noticed that justice had disappeared, he became very displeased.
16 It disgusted him even more to learn that no one would do a thing about it. So with his own powerful arm, he won victories for truth.
17 Justice was the LORD's armor; saving power was his helmet; anger and revenge were his clothes.
18 Now the LORD will get furious and do to his enemies, both near and far, what they did to his people.
19 He will attack like a flood in a mighty windstorm. Nations in the west and the east will then honor and praise his wonderful name.
20 The LORD has promised to rescue the city of Zion and Jacob's descendants who turn from sin.
21 The LORD says: "My people, I promise to give you my Spirit and my message. These will be my gifts to you and your families forever. I, the LORD, have spoken."
1 Jerusalem, stand up! Shine! Your new day is dawning. The glory of the LORD shines brightly on you.
2 The earth and its people are covered with darkness, but the glory of the LORD is shining upon you.
3 Nations and kings will come to the light of your dawning day.
4 Open your eyes! Look around! Crowds are coming. Your sons are on their way from distant lands; your daughters are being carried like little children.
5 When you see this, your faces will glow; your hearts will pound and swell with pride. Treasures from across the sea and the wealth of nations will be brought to you.
6 Your country will be covered with caravans of young camels from Midian and Ephah. The people of Sheba will bring gold and spices in praise of me, the LORD.
7 Every sheep of Kedar will come to you; rams from Nebaioth will be yours as well. I will accept them as offerings and bring honor to my temple.
8 What is that sailing by like clouds or like doves flying home?
9 On those distant islands your people are waiting for me, the LORD. Seagoing ships lead the way to bring them home with their silver and gold. I, the holy LORD God of Israel, do this to honor your people, so they will honor me.
10 Jerusalem, your city walls will be rebuilt by foreigners; their rulers will become your slaves. I punished you in my anger; now I will be kind and treat you with mercy.
11 Your gates will be open day and night to let the rulers of nations lead their people to you with all their treasures.
12 Any nation or kingdom that refuses to serve you will be wiped out.
13 Wood from Lebanon's best trees will be brought to you-- the pines, the firs, and the cypress trees. It will be used in my temple to make beautiful the place where I rest my feet.
14 The descendants of enemies who hated and mistreated you will kneel at your feet. They will say, "You are Zion, the city of the LORD, the holy God of Israel."
15 You were hated and deserted, rejected by everyone. But I will make you beautiful, a city to be proud of for all time to come.
16 You will drain the wealth of kings and foreign nations. You will know that I, the mighty LORD God of Israel, have saved and rescued you.
17 I will bring bronze and iron in place of wood and stone; in place of bronze and iron, I will bring gold and silver. I will appoint peace and justice as your rulers and leaders.
18 Violence, destruction, and ruin will never again be heard of within your borders. "Victory" will be the name you give to your walls; "Praise" will be the name you give to your gates.
19 You won't need the light of the sun or the moon. I, the LORD your God, will be your eternal light and bring you honor.
20 Your sun will never set or your moon go down. I, the LORD, will be your everlasting light, and your days of sorrow will come to an end.
21 Your people will live right and always own the land; they are the trees I planted to bring praise to me.
22 Even the smallest family will be a powerful nation. I am the LORD, and when the time comes, I will quickly do all this.
1 The Spirit of the LORD God has taken control of me! The LORD has chosen and sent me to tell the oppressed the good news, to heal the brokenhearted, and to announce freedom for prisoners and captives.
2 This is the year when the LORD God will show kindness to us and punish our enemies. The LORD has sent me to comfort those who mourn,
3 especially in Jerusalem. He sent me to give them flowers in place of their sorrow, olive oil in place of tears, and joyous praise in place of broken hearts. They will be called "Trees of Justice," planted by the LORD to honor his name.
4 Then they will rebuild cities that have been in ruins for many generations.
5 They will hire foreigners to take care of their sheep and their vineyards.
6 But they themselves will be priests and servants of the LORD our God. The treasures of the nations will belong to them, and they will be famous.
7 They were terribly insulted and horribly mistreated; now they will be greatly blessed and joyful forever.
8 I, the LORD, love justice! But I hate robbery and injustice. My people, I solemnly promise to reward you with an eternal agreement.
9 Your descendants will be known in every nation. All who see them will realize that they have been blessed, by me, the LORD.
10 I celebrate and shout because of my LORD God. His saving power and justice are the very clothes I wear. They are more beautiful than the jewelry worn by a bride or a groom.
11 The LORD will bring about justice and praise in every nation on earth, like flowers blooming in a garden.
1 Jerusalem, I will speak up for your good. I will never be silent till you are safe and secure, sparkling like a flame.
2 Your great victory will be seen by every nation and king; the LORD will even give you a new name.
3 You will be a glorious crown, a royal headband, for the LORD your God.
4 Your name will no longer be "Deserted and Childless," but "Happily Married." You will please the LORD; your country will be his bride.
5 Your people will take the land, just as a young man takes a bride. The LORD will be pleased because of you, just as a husband is pleased with his bride.
6 Jerusalem, on your walls I have stationed guards, whose duty it is to speak out day and night, without resting. They must remind the LORD
7 and not let him rest till he makes Jerusalem strong and famous everywhere.
8 The LORD has given his word and made this promise: "Never again will I give to your enemies the grain and grapes for which you struggled.
9 As surely as you harvest your grain and grapes, you will eat your bread with thankful hearts, and you will drink your wine in my temple."
10 People of Jerusalem, open your gates! Repair the road to the city and clear it of stones; raise a banner to help the nations find their way.
11 Here is what the LORD has said for all the earth to hear: "Soon I will come to save the city of Zion, and to reward you.
12 Then you will be called, 'The LORD's Own People, The Ones He Rescued!' Your city will be known as a good place to live and a city full of people."
1 Who is this coming from Bozrah in Edom with clothes stained red? Who is this hero marching in his glorious uniform? "It's me, the LORD! I have won the battle, and I can save you!"
2 What are those red spots? Your clothes look stained from stomping on grapes.
3 "I alone stomped the grapes! None of the nations helped. I stomped nations in my anger and stained my clothes with their blood.
4 I did this because I wanted to take revenge-- the time had come to rescue my people.
5 No one was there to help me or to give support; my mighty arm won the battle, strengthened by my anger.
6 In my fury I stomped on nations and made them drunk; their blood poured out everywhere on earth."
7 I will tell about the kind deeds the LORD has done. They deserve praise! The LORD has shown mercy to the people of Israel; he has been kind and good.
8 The LORD rescued his people, and said, "They are mine. They won't betray me."
9 It troubled the LORD to see them in trouble, and his angel saved them. The LORD was truly merciful, so he rescued his people. He took them in his arms and carried them all those years.
10 Then the LORD's people turned against him and made his Holy Spirit sad. So he became their enemy and attacked them.
11 But his people remembered what had happened during the time of Moses. Didn't the LORD bring them and their leaders safely through the sea? Didn't he give them his Holy Spirit?
12 The glorious power of the LORD marched beside Moses. The LORD will be praised forever for dividing the sea.
13 He led his people across like horses running wild without stumbling.
14 His Spirit gave them rest, just as cattle find rest when led into a valley. The name of the LORD was praised for doing these things.
15 Please, LORD, look down from your holy and glorious home in the heavens and see what's going on. Have you lost interest? Where is your power? Show that you care about us and have mercy!
16 Our ancestors Abraham and Jacob have both rejected us. But you are still our Father; you have been our protector since ancient times.
17 Why did you make us turn away from you, our LORD? Why did you make us want to disobey you? Please change your mind! We are your servants, your very own people.
18 For a little while, your temple belonged to us; and now our enemies have torn it down.
19 We act as though you had never ruled us or called us your people.
1 Rip the heavens apart! Come down, LORD; make the mountains tremble.
2 Be a spark that starts a fire causing water to boil. Then your enemies will know who you are; all nations will tremble because you are nearby.
3 Your fearsome deeds have completely amazed us; even the mountains shake when you come down.
4 You are the only God ever seen or heard of who works miracles for his followers.
5 You help all who gladly obey and do what you want, but sin makes you angry. Only by your help can we ever be saved.
6 We are unfit to worship you; each of our good deeds is merely a filthy rag. We dry up like leaves; our sins are storm winds sweeping us away.
7 No one worships in your name or remains faithful. You have turned your back on us and let our sins melt us away.
8 You, LORD, are our Father. We are nothing but clay, but you are the potter who molded us.
9 Don't be so furious or keep our sins in your thoughts forever! Remember that all of us are your people.
10 Every one of your towns has turned into a desert, especially Jerusalem.
11 Zion's glorious and holy temple where our ancestors praised you has been destroyed by fire. Our beautiful buildings are now a pile of ruins.
12 When you see these things, how can you just sit there and make us suffer more?
1 I, the LORD, was ready answer even those who were not asking and to be found by those who were not searching. To a nation that refused to worship me, I said, "Here I am!"
2 All day long I have reached out to stubborn and sinful people going their own way.
3 They keep making me angry by sneering at me, while offering sacrifices to idols in gardens and burning incense to them on bricks.
4 They spend their nights hiding in burial caves; they eat the meat of pigs, cooked in sauces made of stuff unfit to eat.
5 And then they say to others, "Don't come near us! We're dedicated to God." Such people are like smoke, irritating my nose all day.
6 I have written this down; I won't keep silent. I'll pay them back just as their sins deserve.
7 I, the LORD, will make them pay for their sins and for those of their ancestors-- they have disgraced me by burning incense on mountains.
8 Here is what the LORD says: A cluster of grapes that produces wine is worth keeping! So, because of my servants, I won't destroy everyone.
9 I have chosen the people of Israel and Judah, and I will bless them with many descendants. They will settle here in this land of mountains, and it will be theirs.
10 My people will worship me. Then the coastlands of Sharon and the land as far as Achor Valley will turn into pastureland where cattle and sheep will feed and rest.
11 What will I, the LORD, do if any of you reject me and my holy mountain? What will happen to you for offering food and wine to the gods you call "Good Luck" and "Fate"?
12 Your luck will end! I will see to it that you are slaughtered with swords. You refused to answer when I called out; you paid no attention to my instructions. Instead, you did what I hated, knowing it was wrong.
13 I, the LORD God, will give food and drink to my servants, and they will celebrate. But all of you sinners will go hungry and thirsty, overcome with disgrace.
14 My servants will laugh and sing, but you will be sad and cry out in pain.
15 I, the LORD God, promise to see that you are killed and that my chosen servants use your names as curse words. But I will give new names to my servants.
16 I am God! I can be trusted. Your past troubles are gone; I no longer think of them. When you pray for someone to receive a blessing, or when you make a promise, you must do it in my name. I alone am the God who can be trusted.
17 I am creating new heavens and a new earth; everything of the past will be forgotten.
18 Celebrate and be glad forever! I am creating a Jerusalem, full of happy people.
19 I will celebrate with Jerusalem and all of its people; there will be no more crying or sorrow in that city.
20 No child will die in infancy; everyone will live to a ripe old age. Anyone a hundred years old will be considered young, and to die younger than that will be considered a curse.
21 My people will live in the houses they build; they will enjoy grapes from their own vineyards.
22 No one will take away their homes or vineyards. My chosen people will live to be as old as trees, and they will enjoy what they have earned.
23 Their work won't be wasted, and their children won't die of dreadful diseases. I will bless their children and their grandchildren.
24 I will answer their prayers before they finish praying.
25 Wolves and lambs will graze together; lions and oxen will feed on straw. Snakes will eat only dirt! They won't bite or harm anyone on my holy mountain. I, the LORD, have spoken!
1 The LORD said: Heaven is my throne; the earth is my footstool. What kind of house could you build for me? In what place will I rest?
2 I have made everything; that's how it all came to be. I, the LORD, have spoken. The people I treasure most are the humble-- they depend only on me and tremble when I speak.
3 You sacrifice oxen to me, and you commit murder; you sacrifice lambs to me and dogs to other gods; you offer grain to me and pigs' blood to idols; you burn incense to me and praise your idols. You have made your own choice to do these disgusting things that you enjoy so much.
4 You refused to answer when I called out; you paid no attention to my instructions. Instead, you did what I hated, knowing it was wrong. Now I will punish you in a way you dread the most.
5 If you tremble when the LORD speaks, listen to what he says: "Some of your own people hate and reject you because of me. They make fun and say, 'Let the LORD show his power! Let us see him make you truly happy.' But those who say these things will be terribly ashamed."
6 Do you hear that noise in the city and those shouts coming from the temple? It is the LORD shouting as he punishes his enemies.
7 Have you ever heard of a woman who gave birth to a child before having labor pains?
8 Who ever heard of such a thing or imagined it could happen? Can a nation be born in a day or come to life in a second? Jerusalem is like a mother who gave birth to her children as soon as she was in labor.
9 The LORD is the one who makes birth possible. And he will see that Zion has many more children. The LORD has spoken.
10 If you love Jerusalem, celebrate and shout! If you were in sorrow because of the city, you can now be glad.
11 She will nurse and comfort you, just like your own mother, until you are satisfied. You will fully enjoy her wonderful glory.
12 The LORD has promised: "I will flood Jerusalem with the wealth of nations and make the city prosper. Zion will nurse you at her breast, carry you in her arms, and hold you in her lap.
13 I will comfort you there like a mother comforting her child."
14 When you see this happen, you will celebrate; your strength will return faster than grass can sprout. Then everyone will know that the LORD is present with his servants, but he is angry with his enemies.
15 The LORD will come down like a whirlwind with his flaming chariots. He will be terribly furious and punish his enemies with fire.
16 The LORD's fiery sword will bring justice everywhere on this earth and execute many people.
17 Some of you get yourselves ready and go to a garden to worship a foreign goddess. You eat the meat of pigs, lizards, and mice. But I, the LORD, will destroy you for this.
18 I know everything you do and think! The time has now come to bring together the people of every language and nation and to show them my glory
19 by proving what I can do. I will send the survivors to Tarshish, Pul, Lud, Meshech, Tubal, Javan, and to the distant islands. I will send them to announce my wonderful glory to nations that have never heard about me.
20 They will bring your relatives from the nations as an offering to me, the LORD. They will come on horses, chariots, wagons, mules, and camels to Jerusalem, my holy mountain. It will be like the people of Israel bringing the right offering to my temple.
21 I promise that some of them will be priests and others will be helpers in my temple. I, the LORD, have spoken.
22 I also promise that you will always have descendants and will never be forgotten, just as the new heavens and the new earth that I create will last forever.
23 On the first day of each month and on each Sabbath, everyone will worship me. I, the LORD, have spoken.
24 My people will go out and look at the dead bodies of those who turned against me. The worms there never die, the fire never stops burning, and the sight of those bodies will be disgusting to everyone.