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Isaiah 13-23
New King James Version
Isaiah 13-23
New King James Version
Proclamation Against Babylon
13 The (A)burden[a] against Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw.
2 “Lift(B) up a banner (C)on the high mountain,
Raise your voice to them;
(D)Wave your hand, that they may enter the gates of the nobles.
3 I have commanded My [b]sanctified ones;
I have also called (E)My mighty ones for My anger—
Those who (F)rejoice in My exaltation.”
4 The (G)noise of a multitude in the mountains,
Like that of many people!
A tumultuous noise of the kingdoms of nations gathered together!
The Lord of hosts musters
The army for battle.
5 They come from a far country,
From the end of heaven—
The (H)Lord and His [c]weapons of indignation,
To destroy the whole (I)land.
6 Wail, (J)for the day of the Lord is at hand!
(K)It will come as destruction from the Almighty.
7 Therefore all hands will be limp,
Every man’s heart will melt,
8 And they will be afraid.
(L)Pangs[d] and sorrows will take hold of them;
They will be in pain as a woman in childbirth;
They will be amazed at one another;
Their faces will be like flames.
9 Behold, (M)the day of the Lord comes,
Cruel, with both wrath and fierce anger,
To lay the land desolate;
And He will destroy (N)its sinners from it.
10 For the stars of heaven and their constellations
Will not give their light;
The sun will be (O)darkened in its going forth,
And the moon will not cause its light to shine.
11 “I will (P)punish the world for its evil,
And the wicked for their iniquity;
(Q)I will halt the arrogance of the proud,
And will lay low the haughtiness of the [e]terrible.
12 I will make a mortal more rare than fine gold,
A man more than the golden wedge of Ophir.
13 (R)Therefore I will shake the heavens,
And the earth will move out of her place,
In the wrath of the Lord of hosts
And in (S)the day of His fierce anger.
14 It shall be as the hunted gazelle,
And as a sheep that no man [f]takes up;
(T)Every man will turn to his own people,
And everyone will flee to his own land.
15 Everyone who is found will be thrust through,
And everyone who is captured will fall by the sword.
16 Their children also will be (U)dashed to pieces before their eyes;
Their houses will be plundered
And their wives (V)ravished.
17 “Behold,(W) I will stir up the Medes against them,
Who will not [g]regard silver;
And as for gold, they will not delight in it.
18 Also their bows will dash the young men to pieces,
And they will have no pity on the fruit of the womb;
Their eye will not spare children.
19 (X)And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms,
The beauty of the Chaldeans’ pride,
Will be as when God overthrew (Y)Sodom and Gomorrah.
20 (Z)It will never be inhabited,
Nor will it be settled from generation to generation;
Nor will the Arabian pitch tents there,
Nor will the shepherds make their sheepfolds there.
21 (AA)But wild beasts of the desert will lie there,
And their houses will be full of [h]owls;
Ostriches will dwell there,
And wild goats will caper there.
22 The hyenas will howl in their citadels,
And jackals in their pleasant palaces.
(AB)Her time is near to come,
And her days will not be prolonged.”
Mercy on Jacob
14 For the Lord (AC)will have mercy on Jacob, and (AD)will still choose Israel, and settle them in their own land. (AE)The strangers will be joined with them, and they will cling to the house of Jacob. 2 Then people will take them (AF)and bring them to their place, and the house of Israel will possess them for servants and maids in the land of the Lord; they will take them captive whose captives they were, (AG)and rule over their oppressors.
Fall of the King of Babylon
3 It shall come to pass in the day the Lord gives you rest from your sorrow, and from your fear and the hard bondage in which you were made to serve, 4 that you (AH)will take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say:
“How the oppressor has ceased,
The (AI)golden[i] city ceased!
5 The Lord has broken (AJ)the staff of the wicked,
The scepter of the rulers;
6 He who struck the people in wrath with a continual stroke,
He who ruled the nations in anger,
Is persecuted and no one hinders.
7 The whole earth is at rest and quiet;
They break forth into singing.
8 (AK)Indeed the cypress trees rejoice over you,
And the cedars of Lebanon,
Saying, ‘Since you [j]were cut down,
No woodsman has come up against us.’
9 “Hell(AL)[k] from beneath is excited about you,
To meet you at your coming;
It stirs up the dead for you,
All the chief ones of the earth;
It has raised up from their thrones
All the kings of the nations.
10 They all shall (AM)speak and say to you:
‘Have you also become as weak as we?
Have you become like us?
11 Your pomp is brought down to Sheol,
And the sound of your stringed instruments;
The maggot is spread under you,
And worms cover you.’
The Fall of Lucifer
12 “How(AN) you are fallen from heaven,
O [l]Lucifer, son of the morning!
How you are cut down to the ground,
You who weakened the nations!
13 For you have said in your heart:
(AO)‘I will ascend into heaven,
(AP)I will exalt my throne above the stars of God;
I will also sit on the (AQ)mount of the congregation
(AR)On the farthest sides of the north;
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds,
(AS)I will be like the Most High.’
15 Yet you (AT)shall be brought down to Sheol,
To the [m]lowest depths of the Pit.
16 “Those who see you will gaze at you,
And consider you, saying:
‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble,
Who shook kingdoms,
17 Who made the world as a wilderness
And destroyed its cities,
Who [n]did not open the house of his prisoners?’
18 “All the kings of the nations,
All of them, sleep in glory,
Everyone in his own house;
19 But you are cast out of your grave
Like an [o]abominable branch,
Like the garment of those who are slain,
[p]Thrust through with a sword,
Who go down to the stones of the pit,
Like a corpse trodden underfoot.
20 You will not be joined with them in burial,
Because you have destroyed your land
And slain your people.
(AU)The brood of evildoers shall never be named.
21 Prepare slaughter for his children
(AV)Because of the iniquity of their fathers,
Lest they rise up and possess the land,
And fill the face of the world with cities.”
Babylon Destroyed
22 “For I will rise up against them,” says the Lord of hosts,
“And cut off from Babylon (AW)the name and (AX)remnant,
(AY)And offspring and posterity,” says the Lord.
23 “I will also make it a possession for the (AZ)porcupine,
And marshes of muddy water;
I will sweep it with the broom of destruction,” says the Lord of hosts.
Assyria Destroyed
24 The Lord of hosts has sworn, saying,
“Surely, as I have thought, so it shall come to pass,
And as I have purposed, so it shall (BA)stand:
25 That I will break the (BB)Assyrian in My land,
And on My mountains tread him underfoot.
Then (BC)his yoke shall be removed from them,
And his burden removed from their shoulders.
26 This is the (BD)purpose that is purposed against the whole earth,
And this is the hand that is stretched out over all the nations.
27 For the Lord of hosts has (BE)purposed,
And who will annul it?
His hand is stretched out,
And who will turn it back?”
Philistia Destroyed
28 This is the [q]burden which came in the year that (BF)King Ahaz died.
29 “Do not rejoice, all you of Philistia,
(BG)Because the rod that struck you is broken;
For out of the serpent’s roots will come forth a viper,
(BH)And its offspring will be a fiery flying serpent.
30 The firstborn of the poor will feed,
And the needy will lie down in safety;
I will kill your roots with famine,
And it will slay your remnant.
31 Wail, O gate! Cry, O city!
All you of Philistia are dissolved;
For smoke will come from the north,
And no one will be alone in his [r]appointed times.”
32 What will they answer the messengers of the nation?
That (BI)the Lord has founded Zion,
And (BJ)the poor of His people shall take refuge in it.
Proclamation Against Moab
15 The (BK)burden[s] against Moab.
Because in the night (BL)Ar of (BM)Moab is laid waste
And destroyed,
Because in the night Kir of Moab is laid waste
And destroyed,
2 He has gone up to the [t]temple and Dibon,
To the high places to weep.
Moab will wail over Nebo and over Medeba;
(BN)On all their heads will be baldness,
And every beard cut off.
3 In their streets they will clothe themselves with sackcloth;
On the tops of their houses
And in their streets
Everyone will wail, (BO)weeping bitterly.
4 Heshbon and Elealeh will cry out,
Their voice shall be heard as far as (BP)Jahaz;
Therefore the [u]armed soldiers of Moab will cry out;
His life will be burdensome to him.
5 “My(BQ) heart will cry out for Moab;
His fugitives shall flee to Zoar,
Like [v]a three-year-old heifer.
For (BR)by the Ascent of Luhith
They will go up with weeping;
For in the way of Horonaim
They will raise up a cry of destruction,
6 For the waters (BS)of Nimrim will be desolate,
For the green grass has withered away;
The grass fails, there is nothing green.
7 Therefore the abundance they have gained,
And what they have laid up,
They will carry away to the Brook of the Willows.
8 For the cry has gone all around the borders of Moab,
Its wailing to Eglaim
And its wailing to Beer Elim.
9 For the waters of [w]Dimon will be full of blood;
Because I will bring more upon Dimon,
(BT)Lions upon him who escapes from Moab,
And on the remnant of the land.”
Moab Destroyed
16 Send (BU)the lamb to the ruler of the land,
(BV)From [x]Sela to the wilderness,
To the mount of the daughter of Zion.
2 For it shall be as a (BW)wandering bird thrown out of the nest;
So shall be the daughters of Moab at the fords of the (BX)Arnon.
3 “Take counsel, execute judgment;
Make your shadow like the night in the middle of the day;
Hide the outcasts,
Do not betray him who escapes.
4 Let My outcasts dwell with you, O Moab;
Be a shelter to them from the face of the [y]spoiler.
For the extortioner is at an end,
Devastation ceases,
The oppressors are consumed out of the land.
5 In mercy (BY)the throne will be established;
And One will sit on it in truth, in the tabernacle of David,
(BZ)Judging and seeking justice and hastening (CA)righteousness.”
6 We have heard of the (CB)pride of Moab—
He is very proud—
Of his haughtiness and his pride and his wrath;
(CC)But his [z]lies shall not be so.
7 Therefore Moab shall (CD)wail for Moab;
Everyone shall wail.
For the foundations (CE)of Kir Hareseth you shall mourn;
Surely they are stricken.
8 For (CF)the fields of Heshbon languish,
And (CG)the vine of Sibmah;
The lords of the nations have broken down its choice plants,
Which have reached to Jazer
And wandered through the wilderness.
Her branches are stretched out,
They are gone over the (CH)sea.
9 Therefore I will bewail the vine of Sibmah,
With the weeping of Jazer;
I will drench you with my tears,
(CI)O Heshbon and Elealeh;
For [aa]battle cries have fallen
Over your summer fruits and your harvest.
10 (CJ)Gladness is taken away,
And joy from the plentiful field;
In the vineyards there will be no singing,
Nor will there be shouting;
No treaders will tread out wine in the presses;
I have made their shouting cease.
11 Therefore (CK)my [ab]heart shall resound like a harp for Moab,
And my inner being for [ac]Kir Heres.
12 And it shall come to pass,
When it is seen that Moab is weary on (CL)the high place,
That he will come to his sanctuary to pray;
But he will not prevail.
13 This is the word which the Lord has spoken concerning Moab since that time. 14 But now the Lord has spoken, saying, “Within three years, (CM)as the years of a hired man, the glory of Moab will be despised with all that great multitude, and the remnant will be very small and feeble.”
Proclamation Against Syria and Israel
17 The (CN)burden[ad] against Damascus.
“Behold, Damascus will cease from being a city,
And it will be a ruinous heap.
2 [ae]The cities of (CO)Aroer are forsaken;
They will be for flocks
Which lie down, and (CP)no one will make them afraid.
3 (CQ)The fortress also will cease from Ephraim,
The kingdom from Damascus,
And the remnant of Syria;
They will be as the glory of the children of Israel,”
Says the Lord of hosts.
4 “In that day it shall come to pass
That the glory of Jacob will [af]wane,
And (CR)the fatness of his flesh grow lean.
5 (CS)It shall be as when the harvester gathers the grain,
And reaps the heads with his arm;
It shall be as he who gathers heads of grain
In the Valley of Rephaim.
6 (CT)Yet gleaning grapes will be left in it,
Like the shaking of an olive tree,
Two or three olives at the top of the uppermost bough,
Four or five in its most fruitful branches,”
Says the Lord God of Israel.
7 In that day a man will (CU)look to his Maker,
And his eyes will have respect for the Holy One of Israel.
8 He will not look to the altars,
The work of his hands;
He will not respect what his (CV)fingers have made,
Nor the [ag]wooden images nor the incense altars.
9 In that day his strong cities will be as a forsaken [ah]bough
And [ai]an uppermost branch,
Which they left because of the children of Israel;
And there will be desolation.
10 Because you have forgotten (CW)the God of your salvation,
And have not been mindful of the Rock of your [aj]stronghold,
Therefore you will plant pleasant plants
And set out foreign seedlings;
11 In the day you will make your plant to grow,
And in the morning you will make your seed to flourish;
But the harvest will be a heap of ruins
In the day of grief and desperate sorrow.
12 Woe to the multitude of many people
Who make a noise (CX)like the roar of the seas,
And to the rushing of nations
That make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters!
13 The nations will rush like the rushing of many waters;
But God will (CY)rebuke them and they will flee far away,
And (CZ)be chased like the chaff of the mountains before the wind,
Like a rolling thing before the whirlwind.
14 Then behold, at eventide, trouble!
And before the morning, he is no more.
This is the portion of those who plunder us,
And the lot of those who rob us.
Proclamation Against Ethiopia
18 Woe (DA)to the land shadowed with buzzing wings,
Which is beyond the rivers of [ak]Ethiopia,
2 Which sends ambassadors by sea,
Even in vessels of reed on the waters, saying,
“Go, swift messengers, to a nation tall and smooth of skin,
To a people terrible from their beginning onward,
A nation powerful and treading down,
Whose land the rivers divide.”
3 All inhabitants of the world and dwellers on the earth:
(DB)When he lifts up a banner on the mountains, you see it;
And when he blows a trumpet, you hear it.
4 For so the Lord said to me,
“I will take My rest,
And I will [al]look from My dwelling place
Like clear heat in sunshine,
Like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.”
5 For before the harvest, when the bud is perfect
And the sour grape is ripening in the flower,
He will both cut off the sprigs with pruning hooks
And take away and cut down the branches.
6 They will be left together for the mountain birds of prey
And for the beasts of the earth;
The birds of prey will summer on them,
And all the beasts of the earth will winter on them.
7 In that time (DC)a present will be brought to the Lord of hosts
[am]From a people tall and smooth of skin,
And from a people terrible from their beginning onward,
A nation powerful and treading down,
Whose land the rivers divide—
To the place of the name of the Lord of hosts,
To Mount Zion.
Proclamation Against Egypt
19 The (DD)burden[an] against Egypt.
Behold, the Lord (DE)rides on a swift cloud,
And will come into Egypt;
(DF)The idols of Egypt will [ao]totter at His presence,
And the heart of Egypt will melt in its midst.
2 “I will (DG)set Egyptians against Egyptians;
Everyone will fight against his brother,
And everyone against his neighbor,
City against city, kingdom against kingdom.
3 The spirit of Egypt will fail in its midst;
I will destroy their counsel,
And they will (DH)consult the idols and the charmers,
The mediums and the sorcerers.
4 And the Egyptians I will give
(DI)Into the hand of a cruel master,
And a fierce king will rule over them,”
Says the Lord, the Lord of hosts.
5 (DJ)The waters will fail from the sea,
And the river will be wasted and dried up.
6 The rivers will turn foul;
The brooks (DK)of defense will be emptied and dried up;
The reeds and rushes will wither.
7 The papyrus reeds by [ap]the River, by the mouth of the River,
And everything sown by the River,
Will wither, be driven away, and be no more.
8 The fishermen also will mourn;
All those will lament who cast hooks into the River,
And they will languish who spread nets on the waters.
9 Moreover those who work in (DL)fine flax
And those who weave fine fabric will be ashamed;
10 And its foundations will be broken.
All who make wages will be troubled of soul.
11 Surely the princes of (DM)Zoan are fools;
Pharaoh’s wise counselors give foolish counsel.
(DN)How do you say to Pharaoh, “I am the son of the wise,
The son of ancient kings?”
12 (DO)Where are they?
Where are your wise men?
Let them tell you now,
And let them know what the Lord of hosts has (DP)purposed against Egypt.
13 The princes of Zoan have become fools;
(DQ)The princes of [aq]Noph are deceived;
They have also [ar]deluded Egypt,
Those who are the [as]mainstay of its tribes.
14 The Lord has mingled (DR)a perverse spirit in her midst;
And they have caused Egypt to err in all her work,
As a drunken man staggers in his vomit.
15 Neither will there be any work for Egypt,
Which (DS)the head or tail,
Palm branch or bulrush, may do.
16 In that day Egypt will (DT)be like women, and will be afraid and fear because of the waving of the hand of the Lord of hosts, (DU)which He waves over it. 17 And the land of Judah will be a terror to Egypt; everyone who makes mention of it will be afraid in himself, because of the counsel of the Lord of hosts which He has (DV)determined against it.
Egypt, Assyria, and Israel Blessed
18 In that day five cities in the land of Egypt will (DW)speak the language of Canaan and (DX)swear by the Lord of hosts; one will be called the City of [at]Destruction.
19 In that day (DY)there will be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the (DZ)Lord at its border. 20 And (EA)it will be for a sign and for a witness to the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt; for they will cry to the Lord because of the oppressors, and He will send them a (EB)Savior and a Mighty One, and He will deliver them. 21 Then the Lord will be known to Egypt, and the Egyptians will (EC)know the Lord in that day, and (ED)will make sacrifice and offering; yes, they will make a vow to the Lord and perform it. 22 And the Lord will strike Egypt, He will strike and (EE)heal it; they will return to the Lord, and He will be entreated by them and heal them.
23 In that day (EF)there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian will come into Egypt and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians will (EG)serve with the Assyrians.
24 In that day Israel will be one of three with Egypt and Assyria—a blessing in the midst of the land, 25 whom the Lord of hosts shall bless, saying, “Blessed is Egypt My people, and Assyria (EH)the work of My hands, and Israel My inheritance.”
The Sign Against Egypt and Ethiopia
20 In the year that (EI)Tartan[au] came to Ashdod, when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him, and he fought against Ashdod and took it, 2 at the same time the Lord spoke by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, “Go, and remove (EJ)the sackcloth from your [av]body, and take your sandals off your feet.” And he did so, (EK)walking naked and barefoot.
3 Then the Lord said, “Just as My servant Isaiah has walked naked and barefoot three years (EL)for a sign and a wonder against Egypt and Ethiopia, 4 so shall the (EM)king of Assyria lead away the Egyptians as prisoners and the Ethiopians as captives, young and old, naked and barefoot, (EN)with their buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt. 5 (EO)Then they shall be afraid and ashamed of Ethiopia their expectation and Egypt their glory. 6 And the inhabitant of this territory will say in that day, ‘Surely such is our expectation, wherever we flee for (EP)help to be delivered from the king of Assyria; and how shall we escape?’ ”
The Fall of Babylon Proclaimed
21 The [aw]burden against the Wilderness of the Sea.
As (EQ)whirlwinds in the South pass through,
So it comes from the desert, from a terrible land.
2 A distressing vision is declared to me;
(ER)The treacherous dealer deals treacherously,
And the plunderer plunders.
(ES)Go up, O Elam!
Besiege, O Media!
All its sighing I have made to cease.
3 Therefore (ET)my loins are filled with pain;
(EU)Pangs have taken hold of me, like the pangs of a woman in labor.
I was [ax]distressed when I heard it;
I was dismayed when I saw it.
4 My heart wavered, fearfulness frightened me;
(EV)The night for which I longed He turned into fear for me.
5 (EW)Prepare the table,
Set a watchman in the tower,
Eat and drink.
Arise, you princes,
Anoint the shield!
6 For thus has the Lord said to me:
“Go, set a watchman,
Let him declare what he sees.”
7 And he saw a chariot with a pair of horsemen,
A chariot of donkeys, and a chariot of camels,
And he listened earnestly with great care.
8 [ay]Then he cried, “A lion, my Lord!
I stand continually on the (EX)watchtower in the daytime;
I have sat at my post every night.
9 And look, here comes a chariot of men with a pair of horsemen!”
Then he answered and said,
(EY)“Babylon is fallen, is fallen!
And (EZ)all the carved images of her gods
He has broken to the ground.”
10 (FA)Oh, my threshing and the grain of my floor!
That which I have heard from the Lord of hosts,
The God of Israel,
I have declared to you.
Proclamation Against Edom
11 (FB)The [az]burden against Dumah.
He calls to me out of (FC)Seir,
“Watchman, what of the night?
Watchman, what of the night?”
12 The watchman said,
“The morning comes, and also the night.
If you will inquire, inquire;
Return! Come back!”
Proclamation Against Arabia
13 (FD)The [ba]burden against Arabia.
In the forest in Arabia you will lodge,
O you traveling companies (FE)of Dedanites.
14 O inhabitants of the land of Tema,
Bring water to him who is thirsty;
With their bread they met him who fled.
15 For they fled from the swords, from the drawn sword,
From the bent bow, and from the distress of war.
16 For thus the Lord has said to me: “Within a year, (FF)according to the year of a hired man, all the glory of (FG)Kedar will fail; 17 and the remainder of the number of archers, the mighty men of the people of Kedar, will be diminished; for the Lord God of Israel has spoken it.”
Proclamation Against Jerusalem
22 The [bb]burden against the Valley of Vision.
What ails you now, that you have all gone up to the housetops,
2 You who are full of noise,
A [bc]tumultuous city, (FH)a joyous city?
Your slain men are not slain with the sword,
Nor dead in battle.
3 All your rulers have fled together;
They are captured by the archers.
All who are found in you are bound together;
They have fled from afar.
4 Therefore I said, “Look away from me,
(FI)I will weep bitterly;
Do not labor to comfort me
Because of the plundering of the daughter of my people.”
5 (FJ)For it is a day of trouble and treading down and perplexity
(FK)By the Lord God of hosts
In the Valley of Vision—
Breaking down the walls
And of crying to the mountain.
6 (FL)Elam bore the quiver
With chariots of men and horsemen,
And (FM)Kir uncovered the shield.
7 It shall come to pass that your choicest valleys
Shall be full of chariots,
And the horsemen shall set themselves in array at the gate.
8 (FN)He removed the [bd]protection of Judah.
You looked in that day to the armor (FO)of the House of the Forest;
9 (FP)You also saw the [be]damage to the city of David,
That it was great;
And you gathered together the waters of the lower pool.
10 You numbered the houses of Jerusalem,
And the houses you broke down
To fortify the wall.
11 (FQ)You also made a reservoir between the two walls
For the water of the old (FR)pool.
But you did not look to its Maker,
Nor did you have respect for Him who fashioned it long ago.
12 And in that day the Lord God of hosts
(FS)Called for weeping and for mourning,
(FT)For baldness and for girding with sackcloth.
13 But instead, joy and gladness,
Slaying oxen and killing sheep,
Eating meat and (FU)drinking wine:
(FV)“Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!”
14 (FW)Then it was revealed in my hearing by the Lord of hosts,
“Surely for this iniquity there (FX)will be no atonement for you,
Even to your death,” says the Lord God of hosts.
The Judgment on Shebna
15 Thus says the Lord God of hosts:
“Go, proceed to this steward,
To (FY)Shebna, who is over the house, and say:
16 ‘What have you here, and whom have you here,
That you have hewn a sepulcher here,
As he (FZ)who hews himself a sepulcher on high,
Who carves a tomb for himself in a rock?
17 Indeed, the Lord will throw you away violently,
O mighty man,
(GA)And will surely seize you.
18 He will surely turn violently and toss you like a ball
Into a large country;
There you shall die, and there (GB)your glorious chariots
Shall be the shame of your master’s house.
19 So I will drive you out of your office,
And from your position [bf]he will pull you down.
20 ‘Then it shall be in that day,
That I will call My servant (GC)Eliakim the son of Hilkiah;
21 I will clothe him with your robe
And strengthen him with your belt;
I will commit your responsibility into his hand.
He shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem
And to the house of Judah.
22 The key of the house of David
I will lay on his (GD)shoulder;
So he shall (GE)open, and no one shall shut;
And he shall shut, and no one shall open.
23 I will fasten him as (GF)a peg in a secure place,
And he will become a glorious throne to his father’s house.
24 ‘They will hang on him all the glory of his father’s house, the offspring and the posterity, all vessels of small quantity, from the cups to all the pitchers. 25 In that day,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘the peg that is fastened in the secure place will be removed and be cut down and fall, and the burden that was on it will be cut off; for the Lord has spoken.’ ”
Proclamation Against Tyre
23 The (GG)burden[bg] against Tyre.
Wail, you ships of Tarshish!
For it is laid waste,
So that there is no house, no harbor;
From the land of [bh]Cyprus it is revealed to them.
2 Be still, you inhabitants of the coastland,
You merchants of Sidon,
[bi]Whom those who cross the sea have filled.
3 And on great waters the grain of Shihor,
The harvest of [bj]the River, is her revenue;
And (GH)she is a marketplace for the nations.
4 Be ashamed, O Sidon;
For the sea has spoken,
The strength of the sea, saying,
“I do not labor, nor bring forth children;
Neither do I rear young men,
Nor bring up virgins.”
5 (GI)When the report reaches Egypt,
They also will be in agony at the report of Tyre.
6 Cross over to Tarshish;
Wail, you inhabitants of the coastland!
7 Is this your (GJ)joyous city,
Whose antiquity is from ancient days,
Whose feet carried her far off to dwell?
8 Who has taken this counsel against Tyre, (GK)the crowning city,
Whose merchants are princes,
Whose traders are the honorable of the earth?
9 The Lord of hosts has (GL)purposed it,
To [bk]bring to dishonor the (GM)pride of all glory,
To bring into contempt all the honorable of the earth.
10 Overflow through your land like [bl]the River,
O daughter of Tarshish;
There is no more [bm]strength.
11 He stretched out His hand over the sea,
He shook the kingdoms;
The Lord has given a commandment (GN)against Canaan
To destroy its strongholds.
12 And He said, “You will rejoice no more,
O you oppressed virgin daughter of Sidon.
Arise, (GO)cross over to Cyprus;
There also you will have no rest.”
13 Behold, the land of the (GP)Chaldeans,
This people which was not;
Assyria founded it for (GQ)wild beasts of the desert.
They set up its towers,
They raised up its palaces,
And brought it to ruin.
14 (GR)Wail, you ships of Tarshish!
For your strength is laid waste.
15 Now it shall come to pass in that day that Tyre will be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king. At the end of seventy years it will happen to Tyre as in the song of the harlot:
16 “Take a harp, go about the city,
You forgotten harlot;
Make sweet melody, sing many songs,
That you may be remembered.”
17 And it shall be, at the end of seventy years, that the Lord will deal with Tyre. She will return to her hire, and (GS)commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the world on the face of the earth. 18 Her gain and her pay (GT)will be set apart for the Lord; it will not be treasured nor laid up, for her gain will be for those who dwell before the Lord, to eat sufficiently, and for [bn]fine clothing.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 13:1 oracle, prophecy
- Isaiah 13:3 consecrated or set apart
- Isaiah 13:5 Or instruments
- Isaiah 13:8 Sharp pains
- Isaiah 13:11 Or tyrants
- Isaiah 13:14 gathers
- Isaiah 13:17 esteem
- Isaiah 13:21 Or howling creatures
- Isaiah 14:4 Or insolent
- Isaiah 14:8 have lain down
- Isaiah 14:9 Or Sheol
- Isaiah 14:12 Lit. Day Star
- Isaiah 14:15 Lit. recesses
- Isaiah 14:17 Would not release
- Isaiah 14:19 despised
- Isaiah 14:19 Pierced
- Isaiah 14:28 oracle, prophecy
- Isaiah 14:31 Or ranks
- Isaiah 15:1 oracle, prophecy
- Isaiah 15:2 Heb. bayith, lit. house
- Isaiah 15:4 So with MT, Tg., Vg.; LXX, Syr. loins
- Isaiah 15:5 Or The Third Eglath, an unknown city, Jer. 48:34
- Isaiah 15:9 So with MT, Tg.; DSS, Vg. Dibon; LXX Rimon
- Isaiah 16:1 Lit. Rock
- Isaiah 16:4 devastator
- Isaiah 16:6 Lit. vain talk
- Isaiah 16:9 Or shouting has
- Isaiah 16:11 Lit. belly
- Isaiah 16:11 Kir Hareseth, v. 7
- Isaiah 17:1 oracle, prophecy
- Isaiah 17:2 So with MT, Vg.; LXX It shall be forsaken forever; Tg. Its cities shall be forsaken and desolate
- Isaiah 17:4 fade
- Isaiah 17:8 Heb. Asherim, Canaanite deities
- Isaiah 17:9 LXX Hivites; Tg. laid waste; Vg. as the plows
- Isaiah 17:9 LXX Amorites; Tg. in ruins; Vg. corn
- Isaiah 17:10 refuge
- Isaiah 18:1 Heb. Cush
- Isaiah 18:4 watch
- Isaiah 18:7 So with DSS, LXX, Vg.; MT omits From; Tg. To
- Isaiah 19:1 oracle, prophecy
- Isaiah 19:1 Lit. shake
- Isaiah 19:7 The Nile
- Isaiah 19:13 Ancient Memphis
- Isaiah 19:13 Lit. caused to stagger
- Isaiah 19:13 cornerstone
- Isaiah 19:18 Some Heb. mss., Arab., DSS, Tg., Vg. Sun; LXX Asedek, lit. Righteousness
- Isaiah 20:1 Or the Commander in Chief
- Isaiah 20:2 Lit. loins
- Isaiah 21:1 oracle, prophecy
- Isaiah 21:3 Lit. bowed
- Isaiah 21:8 DSS Then the observer cried, “My Lord!
- Isaiah 21:11 oracle, prophecy
- Isaiah 21:13 oracle, prophecy
- Isaiah 22:1 oracle, prophecy
- Isaiah 22:2 boisterous
- Isaiah 22:8 Lit. covering
- Isaiah 22:9 Lit. breaches in the city walls
- Isaiah 22:19 LXX omits he will pull you down; Syr., Tg., Vg. I will pull you down
- Isaiah 23:1 oracle, prophecy
- Isaiah 23:1 Heb. Kittim, western lands, especially Cyprus
- Isaiah 23:2 So with MT, Vg.; LXX, Tg. Passing over the water; DSS Your messengers passing over the sea
- Isaiah 23:3 The Nile
- Isaiah 23:9 pollute
- Isaiah 23:10 The Nile
- Isaiah 23:10 restraint, lit. belt
- Isaiah 23:18 choice
Isaiah 13-23
New International Version
Isaiah 13-23
New International Version
A Prophecy Against Babylon
13 A prophecy(A) against Babylon(B) that Isaiah son of Amoz(C) saw:(D)
2 Raise a banner(E) on a bare hilltop,
shout to them;
beckon to them
to enter the gates(F) of the nobles.
3 I have commanded those I prepared for battle;
I have summoned my warriors(G) to carry out my wrath(H)—
those who rejoice(I) in my triumph.
4 Listen, a noise on the mountains,
like that of a great multitude!(J)
Listen, an uproar(K) among the kingdoms,
like nations massing together!
The Lord Almighty(L) is mustering(M)
an army for war.
5 They come from faraway lands,
from the ends of the heavens(N)—
the Lord and the weapons(O) of his wrath(P)—
to destroy(Q) the whole country.
6 Wail,(R) for the day(S) of the Lord is near;
it will come like destruction(T) from the Almighty.[a](U)
7 Because of this, all hands will go limp,(V)
every heart will melt with fear.(W)
8 Terror(X) will seize them,
pain and anguish will grip(Y) them;
they will writhe like a woman in labor.(Z)
They will look aghast at each other,
their faces aflame.(AA)
9 See, the day(AB) of the Lord is coming
—a cruel(AC) day, with wrath(AD) and fierce anger(AE)—
to make the land desolate
and destroy the sinners within it.
10 The stars of heaven and their constellations
will not show their light.(AF)
The rising sun(AG) will be darkened(AH)
and the moon will not give its light.(AI)
11 I will punish(AJ) the world for its evil,
the wicked(AK) for their sins.
I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty(AL)
and will humble(AM) the pride of the ruthless.(AN)
12 I will make people(AO) scarcer than pure gold,
more rare than the gold of Ophir.(AP)
13 Therefore I will make the heavens tremble;(AQ)
and the earth will shake(AR) from its place
at the wrath(AS) of the Lord Almighty,
in the day of his burning anger.(AT)
14 Like a hunted(AU) gazelle,
like sheep without a shepherd,(AV)
they will all return to their own people,
they will flee(AW) to their native land.(AX)
15 Whoever is captured will be thrust through;
all who are caught will fall(AY) by the sword.(AZ)
16 Their infants(BA) will be dashed to pieces before their eyes;
their houses will be looted and their wives violated.(BB)
17 See, I will stir up(BC) against them the Medes,(BD)
who do not care for silver
and have no delight in gold.(BE)
18 Their bows(BF) will strike down the young men;(BG)
they will have no mercy(BH) on infants,
nor will they look with compassion on children.(BI)
19 Babylon,(BJ) the jewel of kingdoms,(BK)
the pride and glory(BL) of the Babylonians,[b]
will be overthrown(BM) by God
like Sodom and Gomorrah.(BN)
20 She will never be inhabited(BO)
or lived in through all generations;
there no nomads(BP) will pitch their tents,
there no shepherds will rest their flocks.
21 But desert creatures(BQ) will lie there,
jackals(BR) will fill her houses;
there the owls(BS) will dwell,
and there the wild goats(BT) will leap about.
22 Hyenas(BU) will inhabit her strongholds,(BV)
jackals(BW) her luxurious palaces.
Her time is at hand,(BX)
and her days will not be prolonged.(BY)
14 The Lord will have compassion(BZ) on Jacob;
once again he will choose(CA) Israel
and will settle them in their own land.(CB)
Foreigners(CC) will join them
and unite with the descendants of Jacob.
2 Nations will take them
and bring(CD) them to their own place.
And Israel will take possession of the nations(CE)
and make them male and female servants in the Lord’s land.
They will make captives(CF) of their captors
and rule over their oppressors.(CG)
3 On the day the Lord gives you relief(CH) from your suffering and turmoil(CI) and from the harsh labor forced on you,(CJ) 4 you will take up this taunt(CK) against the king of Babylon:(CL)
How the oppressor(CM) has come to an end!
How his fury[c] has ended!
5 The Lord has broken the rod(CN) of the wicked,(CO)
the scepter(CP) of the rulers,
6 which in anger struck down peoples(CQ)
with unceasing blows,
and in fury subdued(CR) nations
with relentless aggression.(CS)
7 All the lands are at rest and at peace;(CT)
they break into singing.(CU)
8 Even the junipers(CV) and the cedars of Lebanon
gloat over you and say,
“Now that you have been laid low,
no one comes to cut us down.”(CW)
9 The realm of the dead(CX) below is all astir
to meet you at your coming;
it rouses the spirits of the departed(CY) to greet you—
all those who were leaders(CZ) in the world;
it makes them rise from their thrones—
all those who were kings over the nations.(DA)
10 They will all respond,
they will say to you,
“You also have become weak, as we are;
you have become like us.”(DB)
11 All your pomp has been brought down to the grave,(DC)
along with the noise of your harps;(DD)
maggots are spread out beneath you
and worms(DE) cover you.(DF)
12 How you have fallen(DG) from heaven,
morning star,(DH) son of the dawn!
You have been cast down to the earth,
you who once laid low the nations!(DI)
13 You said in your heart,
“I will ascend(DJ) to the heavens;
I will raise my throne(DK)
above the stars of God;
I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly,(DL)
on the utmost heights(DM) of Mount Zaphon.[d]
14 I will ascend above the tops of the clouds;(DN)
I will make myself like the Most High.”(DO)
15 But you are brought down(DP) to the realm of the dead,(DQ)
to the depths(DR) of the pit.(DS)
16 Those who see you stare at you,
they ponder your fate:(DT)
“Is this the man who shook(DU) the earth
and made kingdoms tremble,
17 the man who made the world a wilderness,(DV)
who overthrew(DW) its cities
and would not let his captives go home?”(DX)
18 All the kings of the nations lie in state,
each in his own tomb.(DY)
19 But you are cast out(DZ) of your tomb
like a rejected branch;
you are covered with the slain,(EA)
with those pierced by the sword,(EB)
those who descend to the stones of the pit.(EC)
Like a corpse trampled underfoot,
20 you will not join them in burial,(ED)
for you have destroyed your land
and killed your people.
Let the offspring(EE) of the wicked(EF)
never be mentioned(EG) again.
21 Prepare a place to slaughter his children(EH)
for the sins of their ancestors;(EI)
they are not to rise to inherit the land
and cover the earth with their cities.
22 “I will rise up(EJ) against them,”
declares the Lord Almighty.
“I will wipe out Babylon’s name(EK) and survivors,
her offspring and descendants,(EL)”
declares the Lord.
23 “I will turn her into a place for owls(EM)
and into swampland;
I will sweep her with the broom of destruction,(EN)”
declares the Lord Almighty.(EO)
24 The Lord Almighty has sworn,(EP)
“Surely, as I have planned,(EQ) so it will be,
and as I have purposed, so it will happen.(ER)
25 I will crush the Assyrian(ES) in my land;
on my mountains I will trample him down.
His yoke(ET) will be taken from my people,
and his burden removed from their shoulders.(EU)”
26 This is the plan(EV) determined for the whole world;
this is the hand(EW) stretched out over all nations.
27 For the Lord Almighty has purposed,(EX) and who can thwart him?
His hand(EY) is stretched out, and who can turn it back?(EZ)
A Prophecy Against the Philistines
28 This prophecy(FA) came in the year(FB) King Ahaz(FC) died:
29 Do not rejoice, all you Philistines,(FD)
that the rod that struck you is broken;
from the root of that snake will spring up a viper,(FE)
its fruit will be a darting, venomous serpent.(FF)
30 The poorest of the poor will find pasture,
and the needy(FG) will lie down in safety.(FH)
But your root I will destroy by famine;(FI)
it will slay(FJ) your survivors.(FK)
31 Wail,(FL) you gate!(FM) Howl, you city!
Melt away, all you Philistines!(FN)
A cloud of smoke comes from the north,(FO)
and there is not a straggler in its ranks.(FP)
32 What answer shall be given
to the envoys(FQ) of that nation?
“The Lord has established Zion,(FR)
and in her his afflicted people will find refuge.(FS)”
A Prophecy Against Moab(FT)
15 A prophecy(FU) against Moab:(FV)
Ar(FW) in Moab is ruined,(FX)
destroyed in a night!
Kir(FY) in Moab is ruined,
destroyed in a night!
2 Dibon(FZ) goes up to its temple,
to its high places(GA) to weep;
Moab wails(GB) over Nebo(GC) and Medeba.
Every head is shaved(GD)
and every beard cut off.(GE)
3 In the streets they wear sackcloth;(GF)
on the roofs(GG) and in the public squares(GH)
they all wail,(GI)
prostrate with weeping.(GJ)
4 Heshbon(GK) and Elealeh(GL) cry out,
their voices are heard all the way to Jahaz.(GM)
Therefore the armed men of Moab cry out,
and their hearts are faint.
5 My heart cries out(GN) over Moab;(GO)
her fugitives(GP) flee as far as Zoar,(GQ)
as far as Eglath Shelishiyah.
They go up the hill to Luhith,
weeping as they go;
on the road to Horonaim(GR)
they lament their destruction.(GS)
6 The waters of Nimrim are dried up(GT)
and the grass is withered;(GU)
the vegetation is gone(GV)
and nothing green is left.(GW)
7 So the wealth they have acquired(GX) and stored up
they carry away over the Ravine of the Poplars.
8 Their outcry echoes along the border of Moab;
their wailing reaches as far as Eglaim,
their lamentation as far as Beer(GY) Elim.
9 The waters of Dimon[e] are full of blood,
but I will bring still more upon Dimon[f]—
a lion(GZ) upon the fugitives of Moab(HA)
and upon those who remain in the land.
16 Send lambs(HB) as tribute(HC)
to the ruler of the land,
from Sela,(HD) across the desert,
to the mount of Daughter Zion.(HE)
2 Like fluttering birds
pushed from the nest,(HF)
so are the women of Moab(HG)
at the fords(HH) of the Arnon.(HI)
3 “Make up your mind,” Moab says.
“Render a decision.
Make your shadow like night—
at high noon.
Hide the fugitives,(HJ)
do not betray the refugees.
4 Let the Moabite fugitives stay with you;
be their shelter(HK) from the destroyer.”
The oppressor(HL) will come to an end,
and destruction will cease;(HM)
the aggressor will vanish from the land.
5 In love a throne(HN) will be established;(HO)
in faithfulness a man will sit on it—
one from the house[g] of David(HP)—
one who in judging seeks justice(HQ)
and speeds the cause of righteousness.
6 We have heard of Moab’s(HR) pride(HS)—
how great is her arrogance!—
of her conceit, her pride and her insolence;
but her boasts are empty.
7 Therefore the Moabites wail,(HT)
they wail together for Moab.
Lament and grieve
for the raisin cakes(HU) of Kir Hareseth.(HV)
8 The fields of Heshbon(HW) wither,(HX)
the vines of Sibmah(HY) also.
The rulers of the nations
have trampled down the choicest vines,(HZ)
which once reached Jazer(IA)
and spread toward the desert.
Their shoots spread out(IB)
and went as far as the sea.[h](IC)
9 So I weep,(ID) as Jazer weeps,
for the vines of Sibmah.
Heshbon and Elealeh,(IE)
I drench you with tears!(IF)
The shouts of joy(IG) over your ripened fruit
and over your harvests(IH) have been stilled.
10 Joy and gladness are taken away from the orchards;(II)
no one sings or shouts(IJ) in the vineyards;
no one treads(IK) out wine at the presses,(IL)
for I have put an end to the shouting.
11 My heart laments for Moab(IM) like a harp,(IN)
my inmost being(IO) for Kir Hareseth.
12 When Moab appears at her high place,(IP)
she only wears herself out;
when she goes to her shrine(IQ) to pray,
it is to no avail.(IR)
13 This is the word the Lord has already spoken concerning Moab. 14 But now the Lord says: “Within three years,(IS) as a servant bound by contract(IT) would count them,(IU) Moab’s splendor and all her many people will be despised,(IV) and her survivors will be very few and feeble.”(IW)
A Prophecy Against Damascus
17 A prophecy(IX) against Damascus:(IY)
“See, Damascus will no longer be a city
but will become a heap of ruins.(IZ)
2 The cities of Aroer(JA) will be deserted
and left to flocks,(JB) which will lie down,(JC)
with no one to make them afraid.(JD)
3 The fortified(JE) city will disappear from Ephraim,
and royal power from Damascus;
the remnant of Aram will be
like the glory(JF) of the Israelites,”(JG)
declares the Lord Almighty.
4 “In that day(JH) the glory(JI) of Jacob will fade;
the fat of his body will waste(JJ) away.
5 It will be as when reapers harvest the standing grain,
gathering(JK) the grain in their arms—
as when someone gleans heads of grain(JL)
in the Valley of Rephaim.(JM)
6 Yet some gleanings will remain,(JN)
as when an olive tree is beaten,(JO)
leaving two or three olives on the topmost branches,
four or five on the fruitful boughs,”
declares the Lord, the God of Israel.
7 In that day(JP) people will look(JQ) to their Maker(JR)
and turn their eyes to the Holy One(JS) of Israel.
8 They will not look to the altars,(JT)
the work of their hands,(JU)
and they will have no regard for the Asherah poles[i](JV)
and the incense altars their fingers(JW) have made.
9 In that day their strong cities, which they left because of the Israelites, will be like places abandoned to thickets and undergrowth.(JX) And all will be desolation.
10 You have forgotten(JY) God your Savior;(JZ)
you have not remembered the Rock,(KA) your fortress.(KB)
Therefore, though you set out the finest plants
and plant imported vines,(KC)
11 though on the day you set them out, you make them grow,
and on the morning(KD) when you plant them, you bring them to bud,
yet the harvest(KE) will be as nothing(KF)
in the day of disease and incurable(KG) pain.(KH)
12 Woe to the many nations that rage(KI)—
they rage like the raging sea!(KJ)
Woe to the peoples who roar(KK)—
they roar like the roaring of great waters!(KL)
13 Although the peoples roar(KM) like the roar of surging waters,
when he rebukes(KN) them they flee(KO) far away,
driven before the wind like chaff(KP) on the hills,
like tumbleweed before a gale.(KQ)
14 In the evening, sudden(KR) terror!(KS)
Before the morning, they are gone!(KT)
This is the portion of those who loot us,
the lot of those who plunder us.
A Prophecy Against Cush
18 Woe(KU) to the land of whirring wings[j]
along the rivers of Cush,[k](KV)
2 which sends envoys(KW) by sea
in papyrus(KX) boats over the water.
Go, swift messengers,
to a people tall and smooth-skinned,(KY)
to a people feared far and wide,
an aggressive(KZ) nation of strange speech,
whose land is divided by rivers.(LA)
3 All you people of the world,(LB)
you who live on the earth,
when a banner(LC) is raised on the mountains,
you will see it,
and when a trumpet(LD) sounds,
you will hear it.
4 This is what the Lord says to me:
“I will remain quiet(LE) and will look on from my dwelling place,(LF)
like shimmering heat in the sunshine,(LG)
like a cloud of dew(LH) in the heat of harvest.”
5 For, before the harvest, when the blossom is gone
and the flower becomes a ripening grape,
he will cut off(LI) the shoots with pruning knives,
and cut down and take away the spreading branches.(LJ)
6 They will all be left to the mountain birds of prey(LK)
and to the wild animals;(LL)
the birds will feed on them all summer,
the wild animals all winter.
7 At that time gifts(LM) will be brought to the Lord Almighty
from a people tall and smooth-skinned,(LN)
from a people feared(LO) far and wide,
an aggressive nation of strange speech,
whose land is divided by rivers(LP)—
the gifts will be brought to Mount Zion, the place of the Name of the Lord Almighty.(LQ)
A Prophecy Against Egypt
19 A prophecy(LR) against Egypt:(LS)
See, the Lord rides on a swift cloud(LT)
and is coming to Egypt.
The idols of Egypt tremble before him,
and the hearts of the Egyptians melt(LU) with fear.
2 “I will stir up Egyptian against Egyptian—
brother will fight against brother,(LV)
neighbor against neighbor,
city against city,
kingdom against kingdom.(LW)
3 The Egyptians will lose heart,(LX)
and I will bring their plans(LY) to nothing;(LZ)
they will consult the idols and the spirits of the dead,
the mediums and the spiritists.(MA)
4 I will hand the Egyptians over
to the power of a cruel master,
and a fierce king(MB) will rule over them,”
declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty.
5 The waters of the river will dry up,(MC)
and the riverbed will be parched and dry.(MD)
6 The canals will stink;(ME)
the streams of Egypt will dwindle and dry up.(MF)
The reeds(MG) and rushes will wither,(MH)
7 also the plants(MI) along the Nile,
at the mouth of the river.
Every sown field(MJ) along the Nile
will become parched, will blow away and be no more.(MK)
8 The fishermen(ML) will groan and lament,
all who cast hooks(MM) into the Nile;
those who throw nets on the water
will pine away.
9 Those who work with combed flax(MN) will despair,
the weavers of fine linen(MO) will lose hope.
10 The workers in cloth will be dejected,
and all the wage earners will be sick at heart.
11 The officials of Zoan(MP) are nothing but fools;
the wise counselors(MQ) of Pharaoh give senseless advice.(MR)
How can you say to Pharaoh,
“I am one of the wise men,(MS)
a disciple of the ancient kings”?
12 Where are your wise men(MT) now?
Let them show you and make known
what the Lord Almighty
has planned(MU) against Egypt.
13 The officials of Zoan(MV) have become fools,
the leaders of Memphis(MW) are deceived;
the cornerstones(MX) of her peoples
have led Egypt astray.
14 The Lord has poured into them
a spirit of dizziness;(MY)
they make Egypt stagger in all that she does,
as a drunkard staggers(MZ) around in his vomit.
15 There is nothing Egypt can do—
head or tail, palm branch or reed.(NA)
16 In that day(NB) the Egyptians will become weaklings.(NC) They will shudder with fear(ND) at the uplifted hand(NE) that the Lord Almighty raises against them. 17 And the land of Judah will bring terror to the Egyptians; everyone to whom Judah is mentioned will be terrified,(NF) because of what the Lord Almighty is planning(NG) against them.
18 In that day(NH) five cities(NI) in Egypt will speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance(NJ) to the Lord Almighty. One of them will be called the City of the Sun.[l](NK)
19 In that day(NL) there will be an altar(NM) to the Lord in the heart of Egypt,(NN) and a monument(NO) to the Lord at its border. 20 It will be a sign and witness(NP) to the Lord Almighty in the land of Egypt. When they cry out to the Lord because of their oppressors, he will send them a savior(NQ) and defender, and he will rescue(NR) them. 21 So the Lord will make himself known to the Egyptians, and in that day they will acknowledge(NS) the Lord. They will worship(NT) with sacrifices and grain offerings; they will make vows to the Lord and keep them.(NU) 22 The Lord will strike(NV) Egypt with a plague;(NW) he will strike them and heal them. They will turn(NX) to the Lord, and he will respond to their pleas and heal(NY) them.
23 In that day(NZ) there will be a highway(OA) from Egypt to Assyria.(OB) The Assyrians will go to Egypt and the Egyptians to Assyria. The Egyptians and Assyrians will worship(OC) together. 24 In that day(OD) Israel will be the third, along with Egypt and Assyria,(OE) a blessing[m](OF) on the earth. 25 The Lord Almighty will bless(OG) them, saying, “Blessed be Egypt my people,(OH) Assyria my handiwork,(OI) and Israel my inheritance.(OJ)”
A Prophecy Against Egypt and Cush
20 In the year that the supreme commander,(OK) sent by Sargon king of Assyria, came to Ashdod(OL) and attacked and captured it— 2 at that time the Lord spoke through Isaiah son of Amoz.(OM) He said to him, “Take off the sackcloth(ON) from your body and the sandals(OO) from your feet.” And he did so, going around stripped(OP) and barefoot.(OQ)
3 Then the Lord said, “Just as my servant(OR) Isaiah has gone stripped and barefoot for three years,(OS) as a sign(OT) and portent(OU) against Egypt(OV) and Cush,[n](OW) 4 so the king(OX) of Assyria will lead away stripped(OY) and barefoot the Egyptian captives(OZ) and Cushite(PA) exiles, young and old, with buttocks bared(PB)—to Egypt’s shame.(PC) 5 Those who trusted(PD) in Cush(PE) and boasted in Egypt(PF) will be dismayed and put to shame.(PG) 6 In that day(PH) the people who live on this coast will say, ‘See what has happened(PI) to those we relied on,(PJ) those we fled to for help(PK) and deliverance from the king of Assyria! How then can we escape?(PL)’”
A Prophecy Against Babylon
21 A prophecy(PM) against the Desert(PN) by the Sea:
Like whirlwinds(PO) sweeping through the southland,(PP)
an invader comes from the desert,
from a land of terror.
2 A dire(PQ) vision has been shown to me:
The traitor betrays,(PR) the looter takes loot.
Elam,(PS) attack! Media,(PT) lay siege!
I will bring to an end all the groaning she caused.
3 At this my body is racked with pain,(PU)
pangs seize me, like those of a woman in labor;(PV)
I am staggered by what I hear,
I am bewildered(PW) by what I see.
4 My heart(PX) falters,
fear makes me tremble;(PY)
the twilight I longed for
has become a horror(PZ) to me.
5 They set the tables,
they spread the rugs,
they eat, they drink!(QA)
Get up, you officers,
oil the shields!(QB)
6 This is what the Lord says to me:
“Go, post a lookout(QC)
and have him report what he sees.
7 When he sees chariots(QD)
with teams of horses,
riders on donkeys
or riders on camels,(QE)
let him be alert,
fully alert.”
8 And the lookout[o](QF) shouted,
“Day after day, my lord, I stand on the watchtower;
every night I stay at my post.
9 Look, here comes a man in a chariot(QG)
with a team of horses.
And he gives back the answer:
‘Babylon(QH) has fallen,(QI) has fallen!
All the images of its gods(QJ)
lie shattered(QK) on the ground!’”
10 My people who are crushed on the threshing floor,(QL)
I tell you what I have heard
from the Lord Almighty,
from the God of Israel.
A Prophecy Against Edom
11 A prophecy against Dumah[p]:(QM)
Someone calls to me from Seir,(QN)
“Watchman, what is left of the night?
Watchman, what is left of the night?”
12 The watchman replies,
“Morning is coming, but also the night.
If you would ask, then ask;
and come back yet again.”
A Prophecy Against Arabia
13 A prophecy(QO) against Arabia:(QP)
You caravans of Dedanites,(QQ)
who camp in the thickets of Arabia,
14 bring water for the thirsty;
you who live in Tema,(QR)
bring food for the fugitives.
15 They flee(QS) from the sword,(QT)
from the drawn sword,
from the bent bow
and from the heat of battle.
16 This is what the Lord says to me: “Within one year, as a servant bound by contract(QU) would count it, all the splendor(QV) of Kedar(QW) will come to an end. 17 The survivors of the archers, the warriors of Kedar, will be few.(QX)” The Lord, the God of Israel, has spoken.(QY)
A Prophecy About Jerusalem
22 A prophecy(QZ) against the Valley(RA) of Vision:(RB)
What troubles you now,
that you have all gone up on the roofs,(RC)
2 you town so full of commotion,
you city of tumult(RD) and revelry?(RE)
Your slain(RF) were not killed by the sword,(RG)
nor did they die in battle.
3 All your leaders have fled(RH) together;
they have been captured(RI) without using the bow.
All you who were caught were taken prisoner together,
having fled while the enemy was still far away.
4 Therefore I said, “Turn away from me;
let me weep(RJ) bitterly.
Do not try to console me
over the destruction of my people.”(RK)
5 The Lord, the Lord Almighty, has a day(RL)
of tumult and trampling(RM) and terror(RN)
in the Valley of Vision,(RO)
a day of battering down walls(RP)
and of crying out to the mountains.
6 Elam(RQ) takes up the quiver,(RR)
with her charioteers and horses;
Kir(RS) uncovers the shield.
7 Your choicest valleys(RT) are full of chariots,
and horsemen are posted at the city gates.(RU)
8 The Lord stripped away the defenses of Judah,
and you looked in that day(RV)
to the weapons(RW) in the Palace of the Forest.(RX)
9 You saw that the walls of the City of David
were broken through(RY) in many places;
you stored up water
in the Lower Pool.(RZ)
10 You counted the buildings in Jerusalem
and tore down houses(SA) to strengthen the wall.(SB)
11 You built a reservoir between the two walls(SC)
for the water of the Old Pool,(SD)
but you did not look to the One who made it,
or have regard(SE) for the One who planned(SF) it long ago.
12 The Lord, the Lord Almighty,
called you on that day(SG)
to weep(SH) and to wail,
to tear out your hair(SI) and put on sackcloth.(SJ)
13 But see, there is joy and revelry,(SK)
slaughtering of cattle and killing of sheep,
eating of meat and drinking of wine!(SL)
“Let us eat and drink,” you say,
“for tomorrow we die!”(SM)
14 The Lord Almighty has revealed this in my hearing:(SN) “Till your dying day this sin will not be atoned(SO) for,” says the Lord, the Lord Almighty.
15 This is what the Lord, the Lord Almighty, says:
“Go, say to this steward,
to Shebna(SP) the palace(SQ) administrator:(SR)
16 What are you doing here and who gave you permission
to cut out a grave(SS) for yourself(ST) here,
hewing your grave on the height
and chiseling your resting place in the rock?
17 “Beware, the Lord is about to take firm hold of you
and hurl(SU) you away, you mighty man.
18 He will roll you up tightly like a ball
and throw(SV) you into a large country.
There you will die
and there the chariots(SW) you were so proud of
will become a disgrace to your master’s house.
19 I will depose you from your office,
and you will be ousted(SX) from your position.(SY)
20 “In that day(SZ) I will summon my servant,(TA) Eliakim(TB) son of Hilkiah. 21 I will clothe him with your robe and fasten your sash(TC) around him and hand your authority(TD) over to him. He will be a father to those who live in Jerusalem and to the people of Judah. 22 I will place on his shoulder(TE) the key(TF) to the house of David;(TG) what he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.(TH) 23 I will drive him like a peg(TI) into a firm place;(TJ) he will become a seat[q] of honor(TK) for the house of his father. 24 All the glory of his family will hang on him: its offspring and offshoots—all its lesser vessels, from the bowls to all the jars.
25 “In that day,(TL)” declares the Lord Almighty, “the peg(TM) driven into the firm place will give way; it will be sheared off and will fall, and the load hanging on it will be cut down.” The Lord has spoken.(TN)
A Prophecy Against Tyre
23 A prophecy against Tyre:(TO)
Wail,(TP) you ships(TQ) of Tarshish!(TR)
For Tyre is destroyed(TS)
and left without house or harbor.
From the land of Cyprus
word has come to them.
2 Be silent,(TT) you people of the island
and you merchants(TU) of Sidon,(TV)
whom the seafarers have enriched.
3 On the great waters
came the grain of the Shihor;(TW)
the harvest of the Nile[r](TX) was the revenue of Tyre,(TY)
and she became the marketplace of the nations.
4 Be ashamed, Sidon,(TZ) and you fortress of the sea,
for the sea has spoken:
“I have neither been in labor nor given birth;(UA)
I have neither reared sons nor brought up daughters.”
5 When word comes to Egypt,
they will be in anguish(UB) at the report from Tyre.(UC)
6 Cross over to Tarshish;(UD)
wail, you people of the island.
7 Is this your city of revelry,(UE)
the old, old city,
whose feet have taken her
to settle in far-off lands?
8 Who planned this against Tyre,
the bestower of crowns,
whose merchants(UF) are princes,
whose traders(UG) are renowned in the earth?
9 The Lord Almighty planned(UH) it,
to bring down(UI) her pride in all her splendor
and to humble(UJ) all who are renowned(UK) on the earth.
10 Till[s] your land as they do along the Nile,
Daughter Tarshish,
for you no longer have a harbor.
11 The Lord has stretched out his hand(UL) over the sea
and made its kingdoms tremble.(UM)
He has given an order concerning Phoenicia
that her fortresses be destroyed.(UN)
12 He said, “No more of your reveling,(UO)
Virgin Daughter(UP) Sidon, now crushed!
“Up, cross over to Cyprus;(UQ)
even there you will find no rest.”
13 Look at the land of the Babylonians,[t](UR)
this people that is now of no account!
The Assyrians(US) have made it
a place for desert creatures;(UT)
they raised up their siege towers,(UU)
they stripped its fortresses bare
and turned it into a ruin.(UV)
15 At that time Tyre(UZ) will be forgotten for seventy years,(VA) the span of a king’s life. But at the end of these seventy years, it will happen to Tyre as in the song of the prostitute:
16 “Take up a harp, walk through the city,
you forgotten prostitute;(VB)
play the harp well, sing many a song,
so that you will be remembered.”
17 At the end of seventy years,(VC) the Lord will deal with Tyre. She will return to her lucrative prostitution(VD) and will ply her trade with all the kingdoms on the face of the earth.(VE) 18 Yet her profit and her earnings will be set apart for the Lord;(VF) they will not be stored up or hoarded. Her profits will go to those who live before the Lord,(VG) for abundant food and fine clothes.(VH)
Footnotes
- Isaiah 13:6 Hebrew Shaddai
- Isaiah 13:19 Or Chaldeans
- Isaiah 14:4 Dead Sea Scrolls, Septuagint and Syriac; the meaning of the word in the Masoretic Text is uncertain.
- Isaiah 14:13 Or of the north; Zaphon was the most sacred mountain of the Canaanites.
- Isaiah 15:9 Dimon, a wordplay on Dibon (see verse 2), sounds like the Hebrew for blood.
- Isaiah 15:9 Dimon, a wordplay on Dibon (see verse 2), sounds like the Hebrew for blood.
- Isaiah 16:5 Hebrew tent
- Isaiah 16:8 Probably the Dead Sea
- Isaiah 17:8 That is, wooden symbols of the goddess Asherah
- Isaiah 18:1 Or of locusts
- Isaiah 18:1 That is, the upper Nile region
- Isaiah 19:18 Some manuscripts of the Masoretic Text, Dead Sea Scrolls, Symmachus and Vulgate; most manuscripts of the Masoretic Text City of Destruction
- Isaiah 19:24 Or Assyria, whose names will be used in blessings (see Gen. 48:20); or Assyria, who will be seen by others as blessed
- Isaiah 20:3 That is, the upper Nile region; also in verse 5
- Isaiah 21:8 Dead Sea Scrolls and Syriac; Masoretic Text A lion
- Isaiah 21:11 Dumah, a wordplay on Edom, means silence or stillness.
- Isaiah 22:23 Or throne
- Isaiah 23:3 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scrolls Sidon, / who cross over the sea; / your envoys 3 are on the great waters. / The grain of the Shihor, / the harvest of the Nile,
- Isaiah 23:10 Dead Sea Scrolls and some Septuagint manuscripts; Masoretic Text Go through
- Isaiah 23:13 Or Chaldeans
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.