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Isaiah 25-28
Contemporary English Version
Isaiah 25-28
Contemporary English Version
A Prayer of Thanks to God
25 You, Lord, are my God!
I will praise you
for doing the wonderful things
you had planned and promised
since ancient times.
2 You have destroyed the fortress
of our enemies,
leaving their city in ruins.
Nothing in that foreign city
will ever be rebuilt.
3 Now strong and cruel nations
will fear and honor you.
4 You have been a place of safety
for the poor and needy
in times of trouble.
Brutal enemies pounded us
like a heavy rain
or the heat of the sun at noon,
but you were our shelter.
5 Those wild foreigners struck
like scorching desert heat.
But you were like a cloud,
protecting us from the sun.
You kept our enemies from singing
songs of victory.
The Lord Has Saved Us
6 On this mountain
the Lord All-Powerful
will prepare for all nations
a feast of the finest foods.
Choice wines and the best meats
will be served.
7 Here the Lord will strip away
the burial clothes
that cover the nations.
8 (A) The Lord All-Powerful
will destroy the power of death
and wipe away all tears.
No longer will his people
be insulted everywhere.
The Lord has spoken!
9 At that time, people will say,
“The Lord has saved us!
Let's celebrate.
We waited and hoped—
now our God is here.”
10 (B) The powerful arm of the Lord
will protect this mountain.
The Moabites will be put down
and trampled on like straw
in a pit of manure.
11 They will struggle to get out,
but God will humiliate them
no matter how hard they try.[a]
12 The walls of their fortresses
will be knocked down
and scattered in the dirt.
A Song of Victory
26 The time is coming when the people of Judah will sing this song:
“Our city[b] is protected.
The Lord is our fortress,
and he gives us victory.
2 Open the city gates
for a law-abiding nation
that is faithful to God.
3 The Lord gives perfect peace
to those whose faith is firm.
4 So always trust the Lord
because he is forever
our mighty rock.[c]
5 God has put down our enemies
in their mountain city[d]
and rubbed it in the dirt.
6 Now the poor and abused
trample all over that city.”
The Lord Can Be Trusted
7 Our Lord, you always do right,
and you make the path smooth
for those who obey you.
8 You are the one we trust
to bring about justice;
above all else we want
your name to be honored.
9 Throughout the night,
my heart searches for you,
because your decisions
show everyone on this earth
how to live right.
10 Even when the wicked
are treated with mercy
in this land of justice,
they do wrong and are blind
to your glory, our Lord.
11 (C) Your hand is raised and ready
to punish them,
but they don't see it.
Put them to shame!
Show how much you care for us
and throw them into the fire
intended for your enemies.
12 You will give us peace, Lord,
because everything we have done
was by your power.
13 Others have ruled over us
besides you, our Lord God,
but we obey only you.
14 Those enemies are now dead
and can never live again.
You have punished them—
they are destroyed,
completely forgotten.
15 Our nation has grown
because of you, our Lord.
We have more land than before,
and you are honored.
The Lord Gives Life to the Dead
16 When you punished our people,
they turned and prayed
to you, our Lord.[e]
17 Because of what you did to us,
we suffered like a woman
about to give birth.
18 But instead of having a child,
our terrible pain
produced only wind.
We have won no victories,
and we have no descendants
to take over the earth.
19 Your people will rise to life!
Tell them to leave their graves
and celebrate with shouts.
You refresh the earth
like morning dew;
you give life to the dead.
20 Go inside and lock the doors,
my people.
Hide there for a little while,
until the Lord
is no longer angry.
The Earth and the Sea Will Be Punished
21 The Lord will come out
to punish everyone on earth
for their sins.
And when he does,
those who did violent crimes
will be known and punished.
27 (D) On that day, Leviathan,[f]
the sea monster,
will squirm and try to escape,
but the Lord will kill him
with a cruel, sharp sword.
Protection and Forgiveness
The Lord said:
2 At that time you must sing
about a fruitful[g] vineyard.
3 I, the Lord, will protect it
and always keep it watered.
I will guard it day and night
to keep it from harm.
4 I am no longer angry.
But if it produces thorns,
I will go to war against it
and burn it to the ground.
5 Yet if the vineyard depends
on me for protection,
it will become my friend
and be at peace with me.
6 Someday Israel will take root
like a vine.
It will blossom and bear fruit
that covers the earth.
7 I, the Lord, didn't punish and kill
the people of Israel
as fiercely as I punished
and killed their enemies.
8 I carefully measured out
Israel's punishment[h]
and sent the scorching heat
to chase them far away.
9 There's only one way
that Israel's sin and guilt
can be completely forgiven:
They must crush the stones
of every pagan altar
and place of worship.
The Lord Will Bring His People Together
10 Fortress cities are left
like a desert
where no one lives.
Cattle walk through the ruins,
stripping the trees bare.
11 When broken branches
fall to the ground,
women pick them up
to feed the fire.
But these people are so stupid
that the God who created them
will show them no mercy.
12 The time is coming when the Lord will shake the land between the Euphrates River and the border of Egypt, and one by one he will bring all of his people together. 13 A loud trumpet will be heard. Then the people of Israel who were dragged away to Assyria and Egypt will return to worship the Lord on his holy mountain in Jerusalem.
Samaria Will Be Punished
28 The city of Samaria
above a fertile valley
is in for trouble!
Its leaders are drunkards,
who stuff themselves
with food and wine.
But they will be like flowers
that dry up and wilt.
2 Only the Lord is strong
and powerful!
His mighty hand
will strike them down
with the force of a hailstorm
or a mighty whirlwind
or an overwhelming flood.
3 Every drunkard in Ephraim[i]
takes pride in Samaria,
but it will be crushed.
4 Samaria above a fertile valley
will quickly lose its glory.
It will be gobbled up
like the first ripe fig
at harvest season.
5 When this time comes,
the Lord All-Powerful
will be a glorious crown
for his people who survive.
6 He will see that justice rules
and that his people are able
to defend their cities.
Corrupt Leaders Will Be Punished
7 Priests and prophets stumble
because they are drunk.
Their minds are too confused
to receive God's messages
or give honest decisions.
8 Their tables are covered,
completely covered,
with their stinking vomit.
9 You drunken leaders
are like babies!
How can you possibly understand
or teach the Lord's message?
10 You don't even listen—
all you hear is senseless sound
after senseless sound.[j]
11 (E) So, the Lord will speak
to his people
in strange sounds
and foreign languages.[k]
12 He promised you
perfect peace and rest,
but you refused to listen.
13 Now his message to you
will be senseless sound
after senseless sound.[l]
Then you will fall backwards,
injured and trapped.
False Security Is Fatal
14 You rulers of Jerusalem
do nothing but sneer;
now you must listen
to what the Lord says.
15 (F) Do you think you have
an agreement with death
and the world of the dead?
Why do you trust in your lies
to keep you safe from danger
and the mighty flood?
16 (G) And so the Lord says,
“I'm laying a firm foundation
for the city of Zion.
It's a valuable cornerstone
proven to be trustworthy;
no one who trusts it
will ever be disappointed.
17 Justice and fairness
will be the measuring lines
that help me build.”
Hailstones and floods
will destroy and wash away
your shelter of lies.
18 Your agreement with death
and the world of the dead
will be broken.
Then angry, roaring waves
will sweep over you.
19 Morning, noon, and night
an overwhelming flood
will wash you away.
The terrible things that happen
will teach you this lesson:
20 Your bed is too short,
your blanket too skimpy.[m]
21 (H) The Lord will fiercely attack
as he did at Mount Perazim[n]
and in Gibeon Valley.[o]
But this time the Lord
will do something surprising,
not what you expect.
22 So you had better stop sneering
or you will be in worse shape
than ever before.
I heard the Lord All-Powerful
threaten the whole country
with destruction.
All Wisdom Comes from the Lord
23 Pay close attention
to what I am saying.
24 Farmers don't just plow
and break up the ground.
25 When a field is ready,
they scatter the seeds
of dill and cumin;
they plant the seeds
of wheat and barley
in the proper places
and sow other grains
around the edges.
26 They learn this from their God.
27 After dill and cumin
have been harvested,
the stalks are pounded,
not run over with a wagon.
28 Wheat and barley are pounded,
but not beaten to pulp;
they are run over with a wagon,
but not ground to dust.
29 This wonderful knowledge comes
from the Lord All-Powerful,
who has such great wisdom.
Footnotes
- 25.11 no matter … try: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 26.1 city: Probably Jerusalem.
- 26.4 mighty rock: See the note at 17.10.
- 26.5 our enemies … city: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 26.16 Lord: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 16.
- 27.1 Leviathan: God's victory over this monster sometimes stands for God's power over all creation and sometimes for his defeat of his enemies, especially Egypt.
- 27.2 fruitful: Some Hebrew manuscripts have “lovely.”
- 27.8 I … punishment: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 28.3 Ephraim: The northern kingdom of Israel; Samaria was its capital.
- 28.10 sound: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verses 9,10.
- 28.11 in … foreign languages: This probably refers to the language of the Assyrians.
- 28.13 Now … sound: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 28.20 Your bed … skimpy: Isaiah quotes a popular saying to teach that the treaty made with Egypt (verse 18) cannot give the nation security from its enemies.
- 28.21 Mount Perazim: This may refer to David's defeat of the Philistines at Baal Perazim (2 Samuel 5.17-21).
- 28.21 Gibeon Valley: This refers to Joshua's victory at Gibeon (Joshua 10.1-11).
Isaiah 25-28
New International Version
Isaiah 25-28
New International Version
Praise to the Lord
25 Lord, you are my God;(A)
I will exalt you and praise your name,(B)
for in perfect faithfulness(C)
you have done wonderful things,(D)
things planned(E) long ago.
2 You have made the city a heap of rubble,(F)
the fortified(G) town a ruin,(H)
the foreigners’ stronghold(I) a city no more;
it will never be rebuilt.(J)
3 Therefore strong peoples will honor you;(K)
cities of ruthless(L) nations will revere you.
4 You have been a refuge(M) for the poor,(N)
a refuge for the needy(O) in their distress,
a shelter from the storm(P)
and a shade from the heat.
For the breath of the ruthless(Q)
is like a storm driving against a wall
5 and like the heat of the desert.
You silence(R) the uproar of foreigners;(S)
as heat is reduced by the shadow of a cloud,
so the song of the ruthless(T) is stilled.
6 On this mountain(U) the Lord Almighty will prepare
a feast(V) of rich food for all peoples,
a banquet of aged wine—
the best of meats and the finest of wines.(W)
7 On this mountain he will destroy
the shroud(X) that enfolds all peoples,(Y)
the sheet that covers all nations;
8 he will swallow up death(Z) forever.
The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears(AA)
from all faces;
he will remove his people’s disgrace(AB)
from all the earth.
The Lord has spoken.(AC)
9 In that day(AD) they will say,
“Surely this is our God;(AE)
we trusted(AF) in him, and he saved(AG) us.
This is the Lord, we trusted in him;
let us rejoice(AH) and be glad in his salvation.”(AI)
10 The hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain;(AJ)
but Moab(AK) will be trampled in their land
as straw is trampled down in the manure.
11 They will stretch out their hands in it,
as swimmers stretch out their hands to swim.
God will bring down(AL) their pride(AM)
despite the cleverness[a] of their hands.
12 He will bring down your high fortified walls(AN)
and lay them low;(AO)
he will bring them down to the ground,
to the very dust.
A Song of Praise
26 In that day(AP) this song will be sung(AQ) in the land of Judah:
We have a strong city;(AR)
God makes salvation
its walls(AS) and ramparts.(AT)
2 Open the gates(AU)
that the righteous(AV) nation may enter,
the nation that keeps faith.
3 You will keep in perfect peace(AW)
those whose minds are steadfast,
because they trust(AX) in you.
4 Trust(AY) in the Lord forever,(AZ)
for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock(BA) eternal.
5 He humbles those who dwell on high,
he lays the lofty city low;
he levels it to the ground(BB)
and casts it down to the dust.(BC)
6 Feet trample(BD) it down—
the feet of the oppressed,(BE)
the footsteps of the poor.(BF)
7 The path of the righteous is level;(BG)
you, the Upright One,(BH) make the way of the righteous smooth.(BI)
8 Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws,[b](BJ)
we wait(BK) for you;
your name(BL) and renown
are the desire of our hearts.
9 My soul yearns for you in the night;(BM)
in the morning my spirit longs(BN) for you.
When your judgments(BO) come upon the earth,
the people of the world learn righteousness.(BP)
10 But when grace is shown to the wicked,(BQ)
they do not learn righteousness;
even in a land of uprightness they go on doing evil(BR)
and do not regard(BS) the majesty of the Lord.
11 Lord, your hand is lifted high,(BT)
but they do not see(BU) it.
Let them see your zeal(BV) for your people and be put to shame;(BW)
let the fire(BX) reserved for your enemies consume them.
12 Lord, you establish peace(BY) for us;
all that we have accomplished you have done(BZ) for us.
13 Lord our God, other lords(CA) besides you have ruled over us,
but your name(CB) alone do we honor.(CC)
14 They are now dead,(CD) they live no more;
their spirits(CE) do not rise.
You punished them and brought them to ruin;(CF)
you wiped out all memory of them.(CG)
15 You have enlarged the nation, Lord;
you have enlarged the nation.(CH)
You have gained glory for yourself;
you have extended all the borders(CI) of the land.
16 Lord, they came to you in their distress;(CJ)
when you disciplined(CK) them,
they could barely whisper(CL) a prayer.[c]
17 As a pregnant woman about to give birth(CM)
writhes and cries out in her pain,
so were we in your presence, Lord.
18 We were with child, we writhed in labor,
but we gave birth(CN) to wind.
We have not brought salvation(CO) to the earth,
and the people of the world have not come to life.(CP)
19 But your dead(CQ) will live, Lord;
their bodies will rise—
let those who dwell in the dust(CR)
wake up and shout for joy—
your dew(CS) is like the dew of the morning;
the earth will give birth to her dead.(CT)
20 Go, my people, enter your rooms
and shut the doors(CU) behind you;
hide(CV) yourselves for a little while
until his wrath(CW) has passed by.(CX)
21 See, the Lord is coming(CY) out of his dwelling(CZ)
to punish(DA) the people of the earth for their sins.
The earth will disclose the blood(DB) shed on it;
the earth will conceal its slain no longer.
Deliverance of Israel
27 In that day,(DC)
the Lord will punish with his sword(DD)—
his fierce, great and powerful sword—
Leviathan(DE) the gliding serpent,(DF)
Leviathan the coiling serpent;
he will slay the monster(DG) of the sea.
2 In that day(DH)—
“Sing(DI) about a fruitful vineyard:(DJ)
3 I, the Lord, watch over it;
I water(DK) it continually.
I guard(DL) it day and night
so that no one may harm(DM) it.
4 I am not angry.
If only there were briers and thorns confronting me!
I would march against them in battle;
I would set them all on fire.(DN)
5 Or else let them come to me for refuge;(DO)
let them make peace(DP) with me,
yes, let them make peace with me.”
6 In days to come Jacob will take root,(DQ)
Israel will bud and blossom(DR)
and fill all the world with fruit.(DS)
7 Has the Lord struck her
as he struck(DT) down those who struck her?
Has she been killed
as those were killed who killed her?
8 By warfare[d] and exile(DU) you contend with her—
with his fierce blast he drives her out,
as on a day the east wind(DV) blows.
9 By this, then, will Jacob’s guilt be atoned(DW) for,
and this will be the full fruit of the removal of his sin:(DX)
When he makes all the altar stones(DY)
to be like limestone crushed to pieces,
no Asherah poles[e](DZ) or incense altars(EA)
will be left standing.
10 The fortified city stands desolate,(EB)
an abandoned settlement, forsaken(EC) like the wilderness;
there the calves graze,(ED)
there they lie down;(EE)
they strip its branches bare.
11 When its twigs are dry, they are broken off(EF)
and women come and make fires(EG) with them.
For this is a people without understanding;(EH)
so their Maker has no compassion on them,
and their Creator(EI) shows them no favor.(EJ)
12 In that day the Lord will thresh(EK) from the flowing Euphrates to the Wadi of Egypt,(EL) and you, Israel, will be gathered(EM) up one by one. 13 And in that day(EN) a great trumpet(EO) will sound. Those who were perishing in Assyria and those who were exiled(EP) in Egypt(EQ) will come and worship(ER) the Lord on the holy mountain(ES) in Jerusalem.
Woe to the Leaders of Ephraim and Judah
28 Woe(ET) to that wreath, the pride of Ephraim’s(EU) drunkards,
to the fading flower, his glorious beauty,
set on the head of a fertile valley(EV)—
to that city, the pride of those laid low by wine!(EW)
2 See, the Lord has one who is powerful(EX) and strong.
Like a hailstorm(EY) and a destructive wind,(EZ)
like a driving rain and a flooding(FA) downpour,
he will throw it forcefully to the ground.
3 That wreath, the pride of Ephraim’s(FB) drunkards,
will be trampled(FC) underfoot.
4 That fading flower, his glorious beauty,
set on the head of a fertile valley,(FD)
will be like figs(FE) ripe before harvest—
as soon as people see them and take them in hand,
they swallow them.
5 In that day(FF) the Lord Almighty
will be a glorious(FG) crown,(FH)
a beautiful wreath
for the remnant(FI) of his people.
6 He will be a spirit of justice(FJ)
to the one who sits in judgment,(FK)
a source of strength
to those who turn back the battle(FL) at the gate.
7 And these also stagger(FM) from wine(FN)
and reel(FO) from beer:
Priests(FP) and prophets(FQ) stagger from beer
and are befuddled with wine;
they reel from beer,
they stagger when seeing visions,(FR)
they stumble when rendering decisions.
8 All the tables are covered with vomit(FS)
and there is not a spot without filth.
9 “Who is it he is trying to teach?(FT)
To whom is he explaining his message?(FU)
To children weaned(FV) from their milk,(FW)
to those just taken from the breast?
10 For it is:
Do this, do that,
a rule for this, a rule for that[f];
a little here, a little there.(FX)”
11 Very well then, with foreign lips and strange tongues(FY)
God will speak to this people,(FZ)
12 to whom he said,
“This is the resting place, let the weary rest”;(GA)
and, “This is the place of repose”—
but they would not listen.
13 So then, the word of the Lord to them will become:
Do this, do that,
a rule for this, a rule for that;
a little here, a little there(GB)—
so that as they go they will fall backward;
they will be injured(GC) and snared and captured.(GD)
14 Therefore hear the word of the Lord,(GE) you scoffers(GF)
who rule this people in Jerusalem.
15 You boast, “We have entered into a covenant with death,(GG)
with the realm of the dead we have made an agreement.
When an overwhelming scourge sweeps by,(GH)
it cannot touch us,
for we have made a lie(GI) our refuge
and falsehood[g] our hiding place.(GJ)”
16 So this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“See, I lay a stone in Zion,(GK) a tested stone,(GL)
a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation;(GM)
the one who relies on it
will never be stricken with panic.(GN)
17 I will make justice(GO) the measuring line
and righteousness the plumb line;(GP)
hail(GQ) will sweep away your refuge, the lie,
and water will overflow(GR) your hiding place.
18 Your covenant with death will be annulled;
your agreement with the realm of the dead will not stand.(GS)
When the overwhelming scourge sweeps by,(GT)
you will be beaten down(GU) by it.
19 As often as it comes it will carry you away;(GV)
morning after morning,(GW) by day and by night,
it will sweep through.”
The understanding of this message
will bring sheer terror.(GX)
20 The bed is too short to stretch out on,
the blanket too narrow to wrap around you.(GY)
21 The Lord will rise up as he did at Mount Perazim,(GZ)
he will rouse himself as in the Valley of Gibeon(HA)—
to do his work,(HB) his strange work,
and perform his task, his alien task.
22 Now stop your mocking,(HC)
or your chains will become heavier;
the Lord, the Lord Almighty, has told me
of the destruction decreed(HD) against the whole land.(HE)
23 Listen(HF) and hear my voice;
pay attention and hear what I say.
24 When a farmer plows for planting,(HG) does he plow continually?
Does he keep on breaking up and working the soil?
25 When he has leveled the surface,
does he not sow caraway and scatter cumin?(HH)
Does he not plant wheat in its place,[h]
barley(HI) in its plot,[i]
and spelt(HJ) in its field?
26 His God instructs him
and teaches(HK) him the right way.
27 Caraway is not threshed(HL) with a sledge,(HM)
nor is the wheel of a cart rolled over cumin;
caraway is beaten out with a rod,(HN)
and cumin with a stick.
28 Grain must be ground to make bread;
so one does not go on threshing it forever.
The wheels of a threshing cart(HO) may be rolled over it,
but one does not use horses to grind grain.
29 All this also comes from the Lord Almighty,
whose plan is wonderful,(HP)
whose wisdom is magnificent.(HQ)
Footnotes
- Isaiah 25:11 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
- Isaiah 26:8 Or judgments
- Isaiah 26:16 The meaning of the Hebrew for this clause is uncertain.
- Isaiah 27:8 See Septuagint; the meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
- Isaiah 27:9 That is, wooden symbols of the goddess Asherah
- Isaiah 28:10 Hebrew / sav lasav sav lasav / kav lakav kav lakav (probably meaningless sounds mimicking the prophet’s words); also in verse 13
- Isaiah 28:15 Or false gods
- Isaiah 28:25 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
- Isaiah 28:25 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
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