Isaiah 1 - 12
Judah, a Sinful Nation
1The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz concerning aJudah and Jerusalem, which he beheld in the days of bUzziah, cJotham, dAhaz, and eHezekiah, kings of Judah.
2aHear, O heavens, and give ear, O bearth;For 1Yahweh speaks,“cSons I have reared and raised up,But they have dtransgressed against Me.3“An ox knows its owner,And a donkey its master’s manger,But Israel adoes not know;My people bdo not perceive.”4Alas, sinful nation,People heavy with iniquity,aSeed of evildoers,Sons who bact corruptly!They have cforsaken Yahweh;They have dspurned the Holy One of Israel;They have 1become estranged 2from Him.5Where will you be stricken again,As you acontinue in your rebellion?The whole head is bsick,And the whole heart is faint.6aFrom the sole of the foot even to the headThere is bnothing sound in it,Only bruises, wounds, and raw wounds,cNot pressed out, not bandaged,Not softened with oil.7Your aland is desolate;Your cities are burned with fire;Your fields—strangers are devouring them in your presence;It is desolate, as overthrown by strangers.8The daughter of Zion is left like a shelter in a vineyard,Like a watchman’s hut in a cucumber field, like a besieged city.9aUnless Yahweh of hostsHad left us a few bsurvivors,We would be like cSodom,We would be like Gomorrah.10Hear athe word of Yahweh,You rulers of bSodom;Give ear to the law of our God,You people of Gomorrah.11“aWhat are your multiplied sacrifices to Me?”Says Yahweh.“I 1have had enough of burnt offerings of ramsAnd the fat of fed cattle;And in the blood of bulls, lambs, or goats 2I take no pleasure.12“When you come ato appear before Me,Who requires 1of you this trampling of My courts?13“Bring your worthless offerings no longer,aIncense is an abomination to Me.bNew moon and sabbath, the ccalling of convocation—I cannot dendure wickedness and the solemn assembly.14“My soul hates your new moon festivals and your aappointed times,They have become a burden to Me;I am bweary of bearing them.15“So when you aspread out your hands in prayer,bI will hide My eyes from you;Indeed, even though you cmultiply prayers,I will not listen.dYour hands are full of blood.16“aWash yourselves, bpurify yourselves;cRemove the evil of your deeds from before My eyes.dCease to do evil,17Learn to do good;aSeek justice,Reprove the ruthless,bExecute justice for the 1orphan,Plead for the widow.18“Come now, and alet us reason together,”Says Yahweh,“bThough your sins are as scarlet,They will be as white as snow;Though they are red like crimson,They will be like wool.19“aIf you are willing and obey,You will beat the best of the land;20But if you refuse and rebel,You will be aeaten by the sword.”For bthe mouth of Yahweh has spoken.Zion Will Be Redeemed with Justice
21How the faithful city has become a aharlot,She who was full of justice!Righteousness once lodged in her,But now murderers.22Your silver has become dross,Your drink diluted with water.23Your arulers are rebelsAnd companions of thieves;Everyone bloves a bribeAnd pursues rewards.They cdo not execute justice for the 1orphan,Nor does the widow’s plea come before them.24Therefore the Lord, Yahweh of hosts,The aMighty One of Israel, declares,“Ah, I will be comforted concerning My adversaries,And I will bavenge Myself on My enemies.25“I will also turn My hand against you,And will asmelt away your dross as with lyeAnd will remove all your alloy.26“Then I will have your ajudges return as at the first,And your counselors as at the beginning;Afterwards you will be called the bcity of righteousness,A faithful town.”27Zion will be aredeemed with justiceAnd her 1repentant ones with righteousness.28But 1transgressors and sinners will be abroken together,And those who forsake Yahweh will come to an end.29For 1you will be ashamed of the 2,aoaks which you have desired,And you will be humiliated because of the bgardens which you have chosen.30For you will be like 1an oak whose aleaf withers awayOr as a garden that has no water.31And the strong man will become tinder,His work also a spark.Thus they shall both aburn together,And there will be bnone to quench them.Yahweh Will Judge the Nations
2The word which aIsaiah the son of Amoz beheld concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
2Now it will be thataIn the last daysThe bmountain of the house of YahwehWill be established 1as the head of the mountains,And will be lifted up above the hills;And call the nations will stream to it.3And many peoples will come and say,“Come, let us go up to the mountain of Yahweh,To the house of the God of Jacob,That He may instruct us 1from His waysAnd that we may walk in His paths.”For afrom Zion the 2law will go forthAnd the word of Yahweh from Jerusalem.4And He will judge between the nations,And will 1render decisions for many peoples;And athey will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.bNation will not lift up sword against nation,And never again will they learn war.Yahweh Will Have a Day of Reckoning
5Come, ahouse of Jacob, and let us walk in the blight of Yahweh.6For You have aabandoned Your people, the house of Jacob,Because they are filled with influences from the east,And they are soothsayers blike the Philistines,And they cstrike bargains with the children of foreigners.7Their land has also been filled with silver and gold,And there is no end to their treasures;Their land has also been filled with ahorses,And there is no end to their chariots.8Their land has also been afilled with idols;They worship the bwork of their hands,That which their fingers have made.9So athe common man has been bowed down,And the man of importance has been made low,But bdo not forgive them.10aEnter the rock and hide in the dustbFrom the dread of Yahweh and from the splendor of His majesty.11The 1,alofty look of 2man will be made low,And the 3,bmen made high will be bowed down,And Yahweh alone will be exalted in that day.12For Yahweh of hosts will have a day of reckoningAgainst aeveryone who is proud and highAnd against everyone who is lifted up,That he may be made low.13And it will be against all the cedars of Lebanon that are high and lifted up,Against all the aoaks of Bashan,14Against all the ahigh mountains,Against all the hills that are lifted up,15Against every alofty tower,Against every fortified wall,16Against all the aships of TarshishAnd against all the desirable craft.17The loftiness of 1man will be bowed down,And the 2men who are high will be made low;And Yahweh alone will be exalted in that day,18But the aidols will completely vanish.19Men will ago into caves of the rocksAnd into holes of the 1groundBefore the dread of YahwehAnd the splendor of His majesty,When He arises bto make the earth tremble.20In that day men will acast away to the moles and the bbatsTheir idols of silver and their idols of gold,Which they made for themselves to worship,21In order to ago into the caverns of the rocks and the clefts of the cliffsBefore the dread of Yahweh and the splendor of His majesty,When He arises to make the earth tremble.221,aStop regarding 2man, whose breath of life is in his nostrils;For 3,bwhy should he be esteemed?Yahweh Will Judge Judah’s Leaders
3For behold, the Lord, Yahweh of hosts, ais going to remove from Jerusalem and JudahBoth 1supply and support, the whole 2supply of breadAnd the whole 3supply of water,2aThe mighty man and the man of war,The judge and the prophet,The diviner and the elder,3The commander of fifty and the 1highly respected man,The counselor and the wise craftsman,And the experienced enchanter.4And I will make ayoung men their princes,And 1capricious children will rule over them,5And the people will be aoppressed,Each one by another, and each one by his bneighbor;The youth will overwhelm the elderAnd the dishonorable, the honorable.6When a man agrasps his brother in his father’s house, saying,“You have a cloak, you shall be our ruler,And these ruins will be under your hand,”7He will 1protest on that day, saying,“I will not be your 2,ahealer,For in my house there is neither bread nor cloak;You should not appoint me ruler of the people.”8For aJerusalem has stumbled and Judah has fallen,Because their btongue and their deeds are against Yahweh,To crebel against 1His glorious presence.91The expression of their faces answers against them,And they declare their sin like aSodom;They do not even conceal it.Woe to their soul!For they have bdealt out evil on themselves.10Say to the arighteous that it will go well with them,For they will eat the fruit of their deeds.11Woe to the wicked! It will go badly with him,For 1,awhat he has dealt out will be done to him.12O My people! Their taskmasters 1are ainfants,And women rule over them.O My people! bThose who guide you lead you astrayAnd swallow up the way of your paths.13aYahweh takes His stand to contend,And stands to judge the peoples.14Yahweh aenters into judgment with the elders of His people and His princes,“It is you who have bconsumed the vineyard;The cplunder robbed of the afflicted is in your houses.15“What do you mean by acrushing My peopleAnd grinding the face of the afflicted?”Declares Lord Yahweh of hosts.Yahweh Will Judge Zion’s Daughters
16Moreover, Yahweh said, “Because the adaughters of Zion are haughty And walk with outstretched necks and seductive eyes,And go along with mincing stepsAnd tinkle the bangles on their feet,
17Therefore the Lord will smite the skull of the daughters of Zion with scabs,And Yahweh will make their foreheads bare.”18In that day the Lord will remove the beauty of their anklets, headbands, acrescent ornaments, 19dangling earrings, bracelets, veils, 20aheaddresses, ankle chains, sashes, perfume boxes, enchanted charms, 211finger rings, anose rings, 22festal robes, outer tunics, cloaks, money purses, 23hand mirrors, undergarments, turbans, and shawls.
24Now it will be that instead of 1sweet aperfume there will be the smell of rot;Instead of a belt, a rope;Instead of bwell-set hair, a cplucked-out scalp;Instead of fine clothes, a ddonning of sackcloth;And branding instead of beauty.25Your men will afall by the swordAnd your 1mighty ones in battle.26And her 1,agates will lament and mourn,And deserted she will bsit on the ground.4And seven women will take hold of aone man in that day, saying, “We will eat our own bread and wear our own clothes, only let us be called by your name; btake away our reproach!”
The Branch of Yahweh Glorified
2In that day the aBranch of Yahweh will be beautiful and glorious, and the bfruit of the earth will be the pride and the 1honor of cthose of Israel who escape. 3It will be that he who aremains in Zion and is left in Jerusalem will be called bholy—everyone who is cwritten down for life in Jerusalem. 4When the Lord has washed away the filth of the adaughters of Zion and rinsed away the bbloodshed of Jerusalem from her midst, by the cspirit of judgment and the dspirit of burning, 5then Yahweh will create over the whole area of Mount Zion and over her convocation aa cloud by day, even smoke, and the brightness of a flaming fire by night; for over all the bglory will be a canopy. 6And there will be a abooth to give shade from the heat by day, and refuge and a hiding place from the storm and the rain.
The Song of the Vineyard
5Let me sing now for my well-belovedA song of my beloved concerning His vineyard.My well-beloved had a avineyard on 1a fertile hill.2He dug it all around, removed its stones,And planted it with 1the achoicest vine.And He built a tower in the middle of itAnd also hewed out a 2wine vat in it;Then He bhoped for it to produce good grapes,But it produced only 3worthless ones.3“So now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah,aPlease judge between Me and My vineyard.4“aWhat more was there to do for My vineyard 1that I have not done in it?Why, when I hoped for it to produce good grapes did it produce 2worthless ones?5“So now let Me tell you what I am going to do to My vineyard:I will aremove its hedge, and it will be consumed;I will bbreak down its wall, and it will become ctrampled ground.6“I will alay it waste;It will not be pruned or hoed,But briars and thorns will come up.I will also command the clouds to brain no rain on it.”7For the avineyard of Yahweh of hosts is the house of IsraelAnd the men of Judah His delightful plant.Thus He hoped for justice, but behold, bbloodshed;For righteousness, but behold, a cry of distress.Woes to Those Who Call Evil Good
8Woe to those who aadd house to house and join field to field,Until there is no more room,So that you have to live alone in the midst of the land!9In my ears Yahweh of hosts has sworn, “Surely, amany houses shall become bdesolate,Even great and good ones, without inhabitants.10“For aten 1acres of vineyard will yield only one 2bath of wine,And a 3,bhomer of seed will yield but an 4ephah of grain.”11Woe to those who rise early in the morning that they may pursue astrong drink,Who stay up late in the evening that wine may inflame them!12And their banquets are accompanied by lyre and aharp, by tambourine and flute, and by wine;But they bdo not look upon the deeds of Yahweh,Nor do they see the work of His hands.13Therefore My people go into exile for their alack of knowledge;And 1their bhonorable men are famished,And their multitude is parched with thirst.14Therefore aSheol has enlarged its 1throat and opened its mouth without limit;And 2Jerusalem’s majesty, her multitude, her rumbling, and the exultant within her, descend into it.15So the common man will be bowed down and the man of importance will be made low,aThe eyes of the lofty also will be made low.16But aYahweh of hosts will be blofty in judgment,And the holy God will show Himself choly in righteousness.17aThen the lambs will graze as in their pasture,And sojourners will eat in the waste places of the 1wealthy.18Woe to those who drag ainiquity with the cords of worthlessness,And sin as if with cart ropes,19aWho say, “Let Him hurry, let Him hasten His work, that we may see it;And let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw nearAnd come to pass, that we may know it!”20Woe to those who acall evil good and good evil,Who 1,bsubstitute darkness for light and light for darkness,Who 2substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!21Woe to those who are awise in their own eyesAnd understanding in their own 1sight!22aWoe to those who are mighty men in drinking wineAnd valiant men in mixing strong drink,23aWho 1declare the wicked righteous for a bribe,And bremove the 2righteous standing of the ones who are 3righteous!24Therefore, aas a tongue of fire consumes stubbleAnd dry grass collapses into the flame,So their broot will become clike rot and their blossom 1blow away as dust;For they have drejected the law of Yahweh of hostsAnd the word of the Holy One of Israel they have spurned.25On this account, the aanger of Yahweh has burned against His people,And He has stretched out His hand against them and struck them down.And the bmountains trembled, and their ccorpses 1lay like refuse in the middle of the streets.dFor all this His anger is not turned back,But His ehand is still stretched out.26He will also lift up a astandard to the 1distant nations,And will bwhistle for it cfrom the ends of the earth;And behold, it will dcome with speed swiftly.27aNo one in it is weary or stumbles,None slumbers or sleeps;Nor is the bbelt at its waist undone,Nor its sandal strap broken.281,aIts arrows are sharp and all its bows are bent;The hoofs of its horses 2seem like flint and its chariot bwheels like a whirlwind.29Its aroaring is like a lioness, and it roars like young lions;It growls and bseizes the preyAnd carries it off with cno one to deliver it.30And it will agrowl over it in that day like the roaring of the sea.If one blooks to the land, behold, there is darkness and distress;Even the light is darkened by its clouds.Isaiah’s Vision of Yahweh
6In the year of aKing Uzziah’s death bI saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, with the train of His robe filling the temple. 2Seraphim stood above Him, aeach having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3And one called out to another and said, “aHoly, Holy, Holy, is Yahweh of hosts;The 1,bwhole earth is full of His glory.”
4And the 1foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called out, while the ahouse of God was filling with smoke. 5Then I said, “aWoe is me, for I am ruined!For I am a man of bunclean lips,And I live among a cpeople of unclean lips;For my eyes have seen the dKing, Yahweh of hosts.”
6Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the aaltar with tongs. 7And he atouched my mouth with it and said, “Behold, this has touched your lips; and byour iniquity is taken away, and your sin is atoned for.”
Yahweh Sends Isaiah
8Then I heard the avoice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then bI said, “Here am I. Send me!” 9He said, “Go, and tell this people: ‘Keep on ahearing, but do not understand;Keep on seeing, but do not know.’
10“aRender the hearts of this people 1,binsensitive,Their ears 2dull,And their eyes 3dim,cLest they see with their eyes,And hear with their ears,And understand with their hearts,And return and be healed.”11Then I said, “Lord, ahow long?” And He said, “Until bcities are devastated and without inhabitant,Houses are without people,And the land is devastated to desolation,
12And Yahweh has aremoved men far away,And the 1,bforsaken places are many in the midst of the land.13“Yet there will be a tenth portion in it,And it will again be subject to burning,Like a terebinth or like an aoakWhose stump remains when it is felled.The bholy seed is its stump.”Isaiah Sent to King Ahaz
7Now it happened in the days of aAhaz, the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that bRezin the king of Aram and cPekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to wage war against it, but dcould not 1conquer it. 2When it was told to the ahouse of David, saying, “1The Arameans bhave camped in cEphraim,” his heart and the hearts of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake before the wind.
3Then Yahweh said to Isaiah, “Go out now to meet Ahaz, you and your son 1Shear-jashub, at the end of the aconduit of the upper pool, to the highway of the 2fuller’s field, 4and say to him, ‘Take care and stay aquiet, have no bfear and cdo not be fainthearted because of these two stubs of smoldering dfirebrands, on account of the burning anger of Rezin and Aram and the eson of Remaliah. 5‘Because aAram, with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, has counseled evil against you, saying, 6“Let us go up against Judah and 1terrorize it, and make for ourselves a breach in 2its walls and set up the son of Tabeel as king in the midst of it,” 7thus says Lord Yahweh: “aIt shall not stand, nor shall it happen. 8“For the head of Aram is aDamascus and the head of Damascus is Rezin (now within another sixty-five years Ephraim will be shattered, so that it is no longer a people), 9and the head of Ephraim is Samaria and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. aIf you do not 1establish your faith in Yahweh, you surely shall not 2be established.”’”
The Sign of Immanuel
10Then Yahweh spoke again to Ahaz, saying, 11“Ask a asign for yourself from Yahweh your God; 1make it deep as Sheol or high as 2heaven.” 12But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, and I will not test Yahweh!” 13Then he said, “1Listen now, O ahouse of David! Is it too slight a thing for you to try the patience of men, that you will btry the patience of cmy God as well? 14“Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, athe 1virgin 2will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name 3,bImmanuel. 15“He will eat acurds and honey 1in order that He will know to refuse evil and choose good. 16“aFor before the boy will know to refuse evil and choose good, bthe land whose two kings you dread will be forsaken. 17“Yahweh will bring on you, on your people, and on your father’s house days which have never come since the day that aEphraim separated from Judah—the bking of Assyria!”
Trials to Come for Judah
18And it will be in that day, that Yahweh will awhistle for the fly that is in the 1,bremotest part of the rivers of Egypt and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria. 19And they will all come and rest upon the steep 1ravines, on the acrevices of the cliffs, bon all the thorn bushes, and on all the 2watering places.
20In that day, the Lord will ashave with a brazor—one chired from regions beyond dthe 1River (that is, the king of Assyria)—the head and the hair of the legs; and it will also remove the beard.
21And it will be in that day, that a man may keep alive a aheifer and a pair of sheep; 22and because of the abundance of the milk produced, he will eat curds, for everyone that is left within the land will eat acurds and honey.
23And it will be in that day, athat every place where there used to be one thousand vines, valued at 1one thousand shekels of silver, will become bbriars and thorns. 24People will come there with bows and arrows because all the land will be briars and thorns. 25As for all the hills which used to be cultivated with the hoe, you will not go there for fear of briars and thorns; but they will become a place for 1,apasturing oxen and for sheep to trample.
The Coming Assyrian Invasion
8Then Yahweh said to me, “Take for yourself a large tablet and awrite on it 1in ordinary letters: bConcerning 2Maher-shalal-hash-baz. 2“And 1I will take to Myself faithful witnesses for testimony, aUriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.” 3Then I drew near to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son. Then Yahweh said to me, “Call his name 1,aMaher-shalal-hash-baz, 4for abefore the boy knows how to cry out ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the wealth of bDamascus and the spoil of Samaria will be carried away before the king of Assyria.”
5Again Yahweh spoke to me further, saying,
6“Inasmuch as these people have arejected the gently flowing waters of ShiloahAnd rejoice in bRezin and the son of Remaliah;7Now therefore, behold, the Lord is about to bring on them the amighty and abundant waters of the 1,bRiver—The cking of Assyria and all his glory;And it will drise up over all its channels and go over all its banks.8“Then ait will sweep on into Judah; it will overflow and pass through;It will breach even to the neck;And the spread of its wings will 1fill the breadth of 2Your land, O cImmanuel.Yahweh, a Sanctuary and a Stumbling Stone
9“aBe broken, O peoples, and be 1,bshattered;And give ear, all remote places of the earth.Gird yourselves, yet be 2shattered;Gird yourselves, yet be 3shattered.10“aDevise counsel, but it will be thwarted;Speak a word, but bit will not stand,For 1,cGod is with us.”11For thus Yahweh spoke to me with a astrong hand and disciplined me bnot to walk in the way of this people, saying,
12“You are not to say, ‘It is a aconspiracy!’In regard to all that this people call a conspiracy;And byou are not to fear 1what they fear, and you shall not tremble.13“It is aYahweh of hosts bwhom you should regard as holy.And He shall be your fear,And He shall be your cause of trembling.14“Then He shall become a asanctuary;But to both the houses of Israel, a bstone to strike and a rock to stumble over,And a snare and a ctrap for the inhabitants of Jerusalem.15“And many awill stumble over them;Then they will fall and be broken;They will even be snared and caught.”16aBind up the testimony, bseal the 1law among cmy disciples. 17And I will await for Yahweh bwho is hiding His face from the house of Jacob; and I will hope for Him. 18aBehold, I and the children whom Yahweh has given me are for bsigns and wonders in Israel from Yahweh of hosts, who cdwells on Mount Zion.
Darkness to Light Through the Prince of Peace
19Now when they say to you, “aInquire of the mediums and the spiritists who whisper and mutter,” should not a people binquire of their God? Should they cinquire of the dead on behalf of the living? 20To the 1,alaw and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because bthey have no dawn. 21And they will pass through 1the land ahard-pressed and hungry, and it will be that when they are hungry, they will be angry and curse 2their king and their God as they face upward. 22Then they will alook to the earth, and behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish; and they will be bbanished into thick darkness.
91But there will be no more agloom for her who was in anguish; in earlier times He btreated the cland of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali with contempt, but later on He shall make it glorious, by the way of the sea, on the other side of Jordan, Galilee of the 2Gentiles.
21,aThe people who walk in darknessWill see a great light;Those who live in the land of the shadow of death,The light will shine on them.3aYou shall multiply the nation,You bshall 1make great 2their gladness;They will be glad in Your presenceAs with the gladness 3of harvest,As 4,cmen rejoice when they divide the spoil.4For aYou shall shatter the yoke of their burden and the staff on their shoulders,The rod of their btaskmaster, as 1at the battle of cMidian.5For every boot of the booted warrior in the rumbling of battle,And cloak rolled in blood, will be for burning, fuel for the fire.6For a achild will be born to us, a bson will be given to us;And the cgovernment will 1rest don His shoulders;And His name will be called eWonderful Counselor, fMighty God,Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.7There will be ano end to the increase of His government or of peace,On the bthrone of David and over his kingdom,To establish it and to uphold it with cjustice and righteousnessFrom then on and forevermore.dThe zeal of Yahweh of hosts will accomplish this.Yahweh’s Anger with Israel’s Arrogance
8The Lord sends a 1message against Jacob,And it falls on Israel.9And all the people know it,That is, aEphraim and the inhabitants of Samaria,Saying in lofty pride and in barrogance of heart:10“The bricks have fallen down,But we will arebuild with cut stones;The sycamores have been cut in pieces,But we will replace them with cedars.”11Therefore Yahweh exalts against them adversaries from aRezinAnd incites their enemies,12The Arameans on the east and the aPhilistines on the west;And they bdevour Israel with 1gaping jaws.cIn spite of all this, His anger does not turn back,And His hand is still stretched out.13Yet the people ado not turn back to Him who struck them,Nor do they bseek Yahweh of hosts.14So Yahweh cuts off ahead and tail from Israel,Both palm branch and bulrush bin a single day.15The head is athe elder and the 1highly respected man,And the prophet who teaches bfalsehood is the tail.16aFor those who guide this people are leading them astray;And those who are guided by them are 1brought to confusion.17Therefore the Lord ais not glad in their choice men,bNor does He have compassion on their 1orphans or their widows;For every one of them is cgodless and an devildoer,And every emouth is speaking wicked foolishness.fIn spite of all this, His anger does not turn back,And His hand is still stretched out.18aFor wickedness burns like a fire;It consumes briars and thorns;It even sets the thickets of the forest aflame,And they roll upward in a column of smoke.19By the afury of Yahweh of hosts the bland is burned up,And the cpeople are like fuel for the fire;No dman spares his brother.201They slice off what is on the right hand but still are ahungry,And 2they eat what is on the left hand but they are not satisfied;Each of them eats the bflesh of his own arm.21Manasseh devours Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh,aAnd together they are against Judah.bIn spite of all this, His anger does not turn back,And His hand is still stretched out.10Woe to those who aenact evil statutesAnd to those who constantly record 1mischief,2So as ato turn the poor away from their causeAnd rob the afflicted of My people of their justice,So bthat widows may be their spoilAnd that they may plunder the 1orphans.3Now awhat will you do in the bday of visitation,And in the devastation which will come cfrom afar?dTo whom will you flee for help?And where will you leave your 1glory?4Nothing remains but to crouch 1among the acaptivesOr fall 2among those bkilled.cIn spite of all this, His anger does not turn backAnd His hand is still stretched out.Yahweh’s Anger with Assyria’s Arrogance
5Woe to aAssyria, the brod of My angerAnd the staff in whose hands is cMy indignation,6I send it against a agodless nationAnd command it against the bpeople of My furyTo capture spoil and cto seize plunder,And to 1trample them down like dmud in the streets.7But it adoes not intend to act in this way,And it does not think in its heart in this way,Rather, what is in its heart is to destroyAnd to cut off 1many nations.8For it says, “Are not my princes 1all kings?9“Is not aCalno like bCarchemish,Or cHamath like Arpad,Or dSamaria like eDamascus?10“As my hand has reached to the akingdoms of the idols,Whose graven images were greater than those of Jerusalem and Samaria,11Shall I not 1do to Jerusalem and her imagesJust as I have done to Samaria and aher idols?”12So it will be that when the Lord has completed all His awork on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, He will say, “I will 1punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria and bthe pomp of his eyes which are raised high.” 13For ahe has said, “By the power of my hand and by my wisdom I did this,For I have understanding;And I bremoved the boundaries of the peoplesAnd plundered their treasures,And like a mighty man I brought down 1their inhabitants,
14And my hand reached for the wealth of the peoples like a anest,And as one gathers abandoned eggs, I gathered all the earth;And there was not one that flapped its wing or opened its beak or chirped.”15Is the aaxe to bboast itself over the one who chops with it?Is the saw to magnify itself over the one who wields it?That would be like ca rod wielding those who lift it,Or like da staff lifting him who is not wood.16Therefore the Lord, Yahweh of hosts, will send a awasting disease among his bstout warriors;And under his cglory a fire will be kindled like a burning flame.17And the alight of Israel will become a fire and his bHoly One a flame,And it will cburn and devour his thorns and his briars in a single day.18And He will abring to an end the glory of his forest and of his fruitful orchard, both soul and body,And it will be as when a sick man wastes away.19And the arest of the trees of his forest will be so small in numberThat a child could write them down.A Remnant Will Return
20Now it will be in that day, that the aremnant of Israel and those of the house of Jacob bwho have escaped, will never again rely on the one who struck them, but will truly crely on Yahweh, the Holy One of Israel.
21A aremnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the bmighty God.22For athough your people, O Israel, may be like the sand of the sea,Only a remnant within them will return;A bdestructive end is decreed, overflowing with righteousness.23For a complete destruction, one that is decreed, aLord Yahweh of hosts will do in the midst of the whole land.
24Therefore thus says Lord Yahweh of hosts, “O My people who inhabit aZion, bdo not fear the Assyrian 1who cstrikes you with the rod and lifts up his staff against you, the way Egypt did. 25“For in a very alittle while bMy indignation against you will end and My anger will be directed to their destruction.” 26And Yahweh of hosts will awaken a scourge against him like the slaughter of bMidian at the rock of Oreb; and His cstaff will be over the sea and He will lift it up dthe way He did in Egypt. 27So it will be in that day, that 1his aburden will be removed from your shoulders and his yoke from your neck, and the yoke will be broken because bof fatness.
28He has come against Aiath,He has passed through aMigron;At bMichmash he deposited his cbaggage.29They have gone through athe pass, saying,“bGeba will be our lodging place.”cRamah trembles, and dGibeah of Saul has fled away.30Cry aloud with your voice, O daughter of aGallim!Pay attention, Laishah and 1afflicted bAnathoth!31Madmenah has fled.The inhabitants of Gebim have sought refuge.32Yet today he will stand at aNob;He bshakes his fist at the mountain of the 1,cdaughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem.33Behold, the Lord, Yahweh of hosts, will lop off the boughs with a terrible crash;Those also who are ahigh in stature will be cut in piecesAnd those who are lofty will be made low.34He will cut down the thickets of the forest with an iron axe,And aLebanon will fall 1by the Mighty One.