Isaiah 20-22
Easy-to-Read Version
Assyria Will Defeat Egypt and Ethiopia
20 Sargon[a] was the king of Assyria. He sent his military commander to fight against Ashdod. The commander went there and captured the city. 2 At that time the Lord spoke through Isaiah son of Amoz. He said, “Go, take the sackcloth off your waist and the sandals off your feet.” So Isaiah obeyed the Lord and went without clothes or sandals.
3 Then the Lord said, “My servant Isaiah has gone without clothes or sandals for three years. This is a sign for Egypt and Ethiopia. 4 The king of Assyria will defeat Egypt and Ethiopia. Assyria will take prisoners and lead them away from their countries. The people, young and old, will be led away without clothes or sandals. They will be completely naked. 5 Those who looked to Ethiopia for help will be shattered. Those who were amazed by Egypt’s glory will be ashamed.”
6 People living along the coast will say, “We trusted those countries to help us. We ran to them so that they would rescue us from the king of Assyria. But look at them. They have been captured, so how can we escape?”
God’s Message About Babylon
21 This is a message[b] about the “desert by the sea”[c]:
It is coming like a storm blowing through the Negev.
It is coming in from the desert, from a frightening nation.
2 I was given a vision of the hard times to come.
I see traitors turning against you.
I see people taking your wealth.
Elam, go against them!
Media, surround the city!
I will put an end to all their moaning.
3 I saw those terrible things, and now I am afraid.
My fear makes my stomach hurt like the pain of giving birth.
What I hear frightens me.
What I see makes me shake with fear.
4 I am worried and shaking with fear.
My pleasant evening has become a nightmare.
5 People are rushing around shouting their orders:
“Set the table!
Post the guard!
Get something to eat and drink!
Officers, get up!
Polish your shields!”
6 The Lord said to me, “Go find someone to guard this city. He must report whatever he sees. 7 Whether he sees a chariot and a team of horses or men riding donkeys or camels, he must listen carefully.”[d]
8 Then one day the watchman[e] called out,
“My master, every day I have been in the watchtower[f] watching.
Every night I have been standing on duty.
9 Look! I see a man in a chariot
with a team of horses.[g]”
The messenger said,
“Babylon has been defeated!
It has fallen to the ground!
All the statues of her false gods
were thrown to the ground and broken to pieces.”
10 My people, you will be like the grain crushed on my threshing floor. I have told you everything I heard from the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel.
God’s Message About Dumah
11 This is a message about Dumah[h]:
There is someone calling to me from Seir,[i]
“Guard, how much of the night is left?
How much longer will it be night?”
12 The guard answered,
“Morning is coming, but then night will come again.
If you have something else to ask,
then come back[j] later and ask.”
God’s Message About Arabia
13 This is a message about Arabia:
A caravan from Dedan spent the night
near some trees in the Arabian Desert.
14 They gave water to some thirsty travelers.
The people of Tema gave them food.
15 They were running from swords
that were ready to kill.
They were running from bows
that were ready to shoot.
They were running from a hard battle.
16 The Lord told me this would happen. He said, “In one year, the way a hired helper counts time, all Kedar’s glory will be gone. 17 Only a few of the archers, the great soldiers of Kedar, will be left alive.” The Lord, the God of Israel, told me this.
God’s Message to Jerusalem
22 This is a message[k] about the Valley of Vision[l]:
Jerusalem, what is wrong?
Why has everyone gone up to hide in their upper rooms?
2 This city was so happy,
but now there is a terrible uproar.
There are bodies lying everywhere,
but they were not killed with swords.
The people died,
but not while fighting.
3 All your officers ran away together,
but they have all been captured without bows.[m]
All the leaders ran away together,
but they were found and captured.
4 So I say, “Don’t look at me!
Let me cry!
Don’t rush to comfort me
about the destruction of Jerusalem.”
5 The Lord God All-Powerful chose a special day for there to be riots and confusion. People trampled on each other in the Valley of Vision. The city walls were pulled down. People in the valley shouted up at those on the mountain. 6 Horse soldiers from Elam took their bags of arrows and rode into battle. Soldiers from Kir rattled their shields. 7 Your favorite valley was filled with chariots. Horse soldiers were stationed in front of the city gates. 8 Then the cover protecting Judah[n] was removed, and the people turned to the weapons they kept at the Forest Palace.[o]
9-11 Then you noticed how many cracks there were in the walls around the City of David, so you began collecting water from the Lower Pool.[p] You counted the houses and used stones from them to repair the walls. Then you built a pool between the double walls[q] for storing water from the Old Pool.[r]
You did all this to protect yourselves, but you did not trust the God who made all these things. You did not even notice the one who made all these things so long ago. 12 So the Lord God All-Powerful told the people to cry and mourn for their dead friends. He told them to shave their heads and wear mourning clothes. 13 But look, everyone was happy. The people rejoiced, saying,
“Kill the cattle and sheep,
and let’s celebrate.
Let’s eat meat and drink wine.
Eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”
14 The Lord All-Powerful said this to me and I heard it with my own ears: “You are guilty of doing wrong, and I promise that you will die before this guilt is forgiven.” The Lord God All-Powerful said these things.
God’s Message to Shebna
15 The Lord God All-Powerful told me to go to Shebna, the palace manager, 16 and say this: “What are you doing here? None of your relatives are buried here, are they? Then what right do you have to prepare a tomb for yourself in this high place? Why are you cutting a tomb out of this rock?
17-18 “What a big man you are! But the Lord will crush you. He will roll you into a small ball and throw you far away into the open arms of another country, and there you will die.
“You are very proud of your chariots. But in that faraway land, your new ruler will have better chariots. And your chariots will not look important in his palace. 19 I will force you out of your position here. Your new leader will take you away from your important job. 20 At that time I will call for my servant Eliakim son of Hilkiah. 21 I will take your robe and put it on him. I will give him your scepter. I will give him the important job you have, and he will be like a father to the people of Jerusalem and Judah’s family.[s]
22 “I will put the key to David’s house around his neck. If he opens a door, no one will be able to close it. If he closes a door, no one will be able to open it. 23 He will be like a favorite chair in his father’s house. I will make him like a strong peg in a solid board. 24 All the honored and important things of his father’s house will hang on him. All the adults and little children will depend on him. They will be like little dishes and big water bottles hanging on him.”
25 The Lord All-Powerful said, “At that time the peg that is now in the solid board will get weak and break. It will fall to the ground, and everything hanging on it will be destroyed. Then everything I said in this message will happen. It will happen because the Lord said it would.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 20:1 Sargon A king of Assyria. He was king about 721–705 B.C.
- Isaiah 21:1 message Or “burden.” Also in verses 11, 13.
- Isaiah 21:1 the desert by the sea Probably Babylon.
- Isaiah 21:7 Or “Whether he sees a column of teams of horsemen, columns of donkeys, or columns of camels, he must listen carefully.”
- Isaiah 21:8 the watchman “the seer,” an ancient title for a prophet. The standard Hebrew text has “a lion.”
- Isaiah 21:8 watchtower A tall building where guards stood and watched to see if anyone was coming near their city.
- Isaiah 21:9 a man … horses Or “a column of teams of horsemen.” This might be a team of horses pulling a war chariot or mounted archers in the Assyrian army who often worked in pairs.
- Isaiah 21:11 Dumah This Hebrew word means “silence.” It may refer to Edom or to a city in Arabia.
- Isaiah 21:11 Seir A mountain in Edom or a city in Arabia.
- Isaiah 21:12 come back This can also mean “change your heart” or “repent.”
- Isaiah 22:1 message Or “burden.”
- Isaiah 22:1 Valley of Vision This probably means one of the valleys near Jerusalem. Also in verse 5.
- Isaiah 22:3 but they have … bows Or “but the archers captured them.”
- Isaiah 22:8 cover protecting Judah This might be the wall around Jerusalem, but see Isa. 4:5-6.
- Isaiah 22:8 Forest Palace A part of Solomon’s palace where his weapons and wealth were stored.
- Isaiah 22:9 Lower Pool The pool at the southern tip of the City of David, just below the Upper Pool (the Pool of Siloam).
- Isaiah 22:9 pool between the double walls This is probably the Upper Pool (the Pool of Siloam).
- Isaiah 22:9 Old Pool Probably the pool at Gihon Spring on the eastern slopes of the city.
- Isaiah 22:21 people of Jerusalem and Judah’s family Or “The king sitting on the throne in Jerusalem, the royal family of Judah.”
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International
