Isaiah 11-13

Easy-to-Read Version

The King of Peace Is Coming

11 A small tree^[a] will begin to grow from the stump of Jesse.^[b] That branch will grow from Jesse’s roots. ² The Lord’s Spirit will always be with that new king to give him wisdom, understanding, guidance, and power. The Spirit will help him know and respect the Lord. ³ He will find joy in obeying the Lord.

This king will not judge people by the way things look. He will not judge by listening to rumors. ^4-5 He will judge the poor fairly and honestly. He will be fair when he decides what to do for the poor of the land. If he decides people should be beaten, he will give the command, and they will be beaten. If he decides people must die, he will give the command, and those evil people will be killed. Goodness and fairness will be like a belt he wears around his waist.

⁶ Then wolves will live at peace with lambs, and leopards will lie down in peace with young goats. Calves, lions, and bulls will all live together in peace. A little child will lead them. ⁷ Bears and cattle will eat together in peace, and all their young will lie down together and will not hurt each other. Lions will eat hay like cattle. ⁸ Even snakes will not hurt people. Babies will be able to play near a cobra’s^[c] hole and put their hands into the nest of a poisonous snake.

⁹ People will stop hurting each other. People on my holy mountain will not want to destroy things because they will know the Lord. The world will be full of knowledge about him, like the sea is full of water.

¹⁰ At that time there will be someone special from Jesse’s family. He will be like a flag that all the nations gather around. The nations will come to him and ask him what they should do. And the place where he is will be filled with glory.

¹¹ At that time the Lord will again reach out and take his people who are left in countries like Assyria, North Egypt, South Egypt, Ethiopia, Elam, Babylonia, Hamath, and other faraway countries around the world. ¹² He will gather the people of Israel and Judah who were forced to leave their country. They were scattered to all the faraway places on earth. But he will raise the flag as a sign for the other nations, and he will gather his people together again.

¹³ Then Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah, and Judah will have no enemies left. And Judah will not cause trouble for Ephraim. ¹⁴ But Ephraim and Judah will attack the Philistines. These two nations will be like birds flying down to catch a small animal. Together, they will take the riches from the people in the East.^[d] Ephraim and Judah will control Edom, Moab, and the people in Ammon.^[e]

¹⁵ Just as the Lord divided the Red Sea near Egypt,^[f] he will raise his arm in anger over the Euphrates River and hit it. It will divide into seven small rivers. They will be so small that the people can walk across with their sandals on. ¹⁶ Then God’s people who are left in Assyria will have a way to leave. It will be just like the time God took the people out of Egypt.

A Song of Praise to God

God’s Message to Babylon

13 God showed Isaiah son of Amoz this message^[h] about Babylon:

⁶ The Lord’s special day is near. So cry and be sad for yourselves. A time is coming when the enemy will steal your wealth. God All-Powerful will make that happen.^{[j] 7} People will lose their courage. Fear will make them weak. ⁸ Everyone will be afraid. They will stare at each other with shock on their faces. Fear will grip them like the pains of a woman in childbirth.

God’s Judgment Against Babylon

⁹ Look, the Lord’s special day is coming! It will be a terrible day. God will be very angry. He will destroy the country and wipe out the sinful people who live there. ¹⁰ The skies will be dark. The sun, the moon, and the stars will not shine.

¹¹ The Lord says, “I will cause bad things to happen to the world. I will punish the evil people for their sin. I will make proud people lose their pride. I will stop the bragging of cruel people. ¹² There will be only a few people left. They will be as rare as pure gold. ¹³ In my anger I will shake the sky, and the earth will be moved from its place.”

That will happen on the day the Lord All-Powerful shows his anger. ¹⁴ Then the people from Babylon will run away like wounded deer or sheep that have no shepherd. Everyone will turn and run back to their own country and people. ¹⁵ Anyone caught by the enemy will be killed with a sword. ¹⁶ Everything in their houses will be stolen. Their wives will be raped, and their little children will be beaten to death while they watch.

¹⁷ The Lord says, “Look, I will cause the armies of Media to attack Babylon. Nothing will stop them, even if someone offers them gold and silver. ¹⁸ They will walk on the bows of the young soldiers of Babylon. The enemy soldiers will not show any kindness or mercy even to the babies and young children. ¹⁹ Babylon will be destroyed like the time God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.

“Babylon is the most beautiful of all kingdoms. The Babylonians^[k] are very proud of their city. ²⁰ But Babylon will not continue to be beautiful. People will not continue to live there in the future. Arabs will not put their tents there. Shepherds will not bring their sheep to let them eat there. ²¹ The only animals living there will be wild animals from the desert. People will not be living in their houses in Babylon. The houses will be full of owls and large birds. Wild goats^[l] will play in the houses. ²² Wild dogs and wolves will howl in the great and beautiful buildings. Babylon will be finished. The end is near, and it will not be delayed.”