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Isaiah 20-22
Easy-to-Read Version
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.”
Isaiah 20-22
New International Version
Isaiah 20-22
New International Version
A Prophecy Against Egypt and Cush
20 In the year that the supreme commander,(A) sent by Sargon king of Assyria, came to Ashdod(B) and attacked and captured it— 2 at that time the Lord spoke through Isaiah son of Amoz.(C) He said to him, “Take off the sackcloth(D) from your body and the sandals(E) from your feet.” And he did so, going around stripped(F) and barefoot.(G)
3 Then the Lord said, “Just as my servant(H) Isaiah has gone stripped and barefoot for three years,(I) as a sign(J) and portent(K) against Egypt(L) and Cush,[a](M) 4 so the king(N) of Assyria will lead away stripped(O) and barefoot the Egyptian captives(P) and Cushite(Q) exiles, young and old, with buttocks bared(R)—to Egypt’s shame.(S) 5 Those who trusted(T) in Cush(U) and boasted in Egypt(V) will be dismayed and put to shame.(W) 6 In that day(X) the people who live on this coast will say, ‘See what has happened(Y) to those we relied on,(Z) those we fled to for help(AA) and deliverance from the king of Assyria! How then can we escape?(AB)’”
A Prophecy Against Babylon
21 A prophecy(AC) against the Desert(AD) by the Sea:
Like whirlwinds(AE) sweeping through the southland,(AF)
an invader comes from the desert,
from a land of terror.
2 A dire(AG) vision has been shown to me:
The traitor betrays,(AH) the looter takes loot.
Elam,(AI) attack! Media,(AJ) lay siege!
I will bring to an end all the groaning she caused.
3 At this my body is racked with pain,(AK)
pangs seize me, like those of a woman in labor;(AL)
I am staggered by what I hear,
I am bewildered(AM) by what I see.
4 My heart(AN) falters,
fear makes me tremble;(AO)
the twilight I longed for
has become a horror(AP) to me.
5 They set the tables,
they spread the rugs,
they eat, they drink!(AQ)
Get up, you officers,
oil the shields!(AR)
6 This is what the Lord says to me:
“Go, post a lookout(AS)
and have him report what he sees.
7 When he sees chariots(AT)
with teams of horses,
riders on donkeys
or riders on camels,(AU)
let him be alert,
fully alert.”
8 And the lookout[b](AV) 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(AW)
with a team of horses.
And he gives back the answer:
‘Babylon(AX) has fallen,(AY) has fallen!
All the images of its gods(AZ)
lie shattered(BA) on the ground!’”
10 My people who are crushed on the threshing floor,(BB)
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[c]:(BC)
Someone calls to me from Seir,(BD)
“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(BE) against Arabia:(BF)
You caravans of Dedanites,(BG)
who camp in the thickets of Arabia,
14 bring water for the thirsty;
you who live in Tema,(BH)
bring food for the fugitives.
15 They flee(BI) from the sword,(BJ)
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(BK) would count it, all the splendor(BL) of Kedar(BM) will come to an end. 17 The survivors of the archers, the warriors of Kedar, will be few.(BN)” The Lord, the God of Israel, has spoken.(BO)
A Prophecy About Jerusalem
22 A prophecy(BP) against the Valley(BQ) of Vision:(BR)
What troubles you now,
that you have all gone up on the roofs,(BS)
2 you town so full of commotion,
you city of tumult(BT) and revelry?(BU)
Your slain(BV) were not killed by the sword,(BW)
nor did they die in battle.
3 All your leaders have fled(BX) together;
they have been captured(BY) 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(BZ) bitterly.
Do not try to console me
over the destruction of my people.”(CA)
5 The Lord, the Lord Almighty, has a day(CB)
of tumult and trampling(CC) and terror(CD)
in the Valley of Vision,(CE)
a day of battering down walls(CF)
and of crying out to the mountains.
6 Elam(CG) takes up the quiver,(CH)
with her charioteers and horses;
Kir(CI) uncovers the shield.
7 Your choicest valleys(CJ) are full of chariots,
and horsemen are posted at the city gates.(CK)
8 The Lord stripped away the defenses of Judah,
and you looked in that day(CL)
to the weapons(CM) in the Palace of the Forest.(CN)
9 You saw that the walls of the City of David
were broken through(CO) in many places;
you stored up water
in the Lower Pool.(CP)
10 You counted the buildings in Jerusalem
and tore down houses(CQ) to strengthen the wall.(CR)
11 You built a reservoir between the two walls(CS)
for the water of the Old Pool,(CT)
but you did not look to the One who made it,
or have regard(CU) for the One who planned(CV) it long ago.
12 The Lord, the Lord Almighty,
called you on that day(CW)
to weep(CX) and to wail,
to tear out your hair(CY) and put on sackcloth.(CZ)
13 But see, there is joy and revelry,(DA)
slaughtering of cattle and killing of sheep,
eating of meat and drinking of wine!(DB)
“Let us eat and drink,” you say,
“for tomorrow we die!”(DC)
14 The Lord Almighty has revealed this in my hearing:(DD) “Till your dying day this sin will not be atoned(DE) for,” says the Lord, the Lord Almighty.
15 This is what the Lord, the Lord Almighty, says:
“Go, say to this steward,
to Shebna(DF) the palace(DG) administrator:(DH)
16 What are you doing here and who gave you permission
to cut out a grave(DI) for yourself(DJ) 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(DK) you away, you mighty man.
18 He will roll you up tightly like a ball
and throw(DL) you into a large country.
There you will die
and there the chariots(DM) 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(DN) from your position.(DO)
20 “In that day(DP) I will summon my servant,(DQ) Eliakim(DR) son of Hilkiah. 21 I will clothe him with your robe and fasten your sash(DS) around him and hand your authority(DT) 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(DU) the key(DV) to the house of David;(DW) what he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.(DX) 23 I will drive him like a peg(DY) into a firm place;(DZ) he will become a seat[d] of honor(EA) 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,(EB)” declares the Lord Almighty, “the peg(EC) 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.(ED)
Footnotes
- 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 20-22
King James Version
Isaiah 20-22
King James Version
20 In the year that Tartan came unto Ashdod, (when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him,) and fought against Ashdod, and took it;
2 At the same time spake the Lord by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, Go and loose the sackcloth from off thy loins, and put off thy shoe from thy foot. And he did so, walking naked and barefoot.
3 And the Lord said, Like as my servant Isaiah hath walked naked and barefoot three years for a sign and wonder upon Egypt and upon Ethiopia;
4 So shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptians prisoners, and the Ethiopians captives, young and old, naked and barefoot, even with their buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt.
5 And they shall be afraid and ashamed of Ethiopia their expectation, and of Egypt their glory.
6 And the inhabitant of this isle shall say in that day, Behold, such is our expectation, whither we flee for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria: and how shall we escape?
21 The burden of the desert of the sea. As whirlwinds in the south pass through; so it cometh from the desert, from a terrible land.
2 A grievous vision is declared unto me; the treacherous dealer dealeth treacherously, and the spoiler spoileth. Go up, O Elam: besiege, O Media; all the sighing thereof have I made to cease.
3 Therefore are my loins filled with pain: pangs have taken hold upon me, as the pangs of a woman that travaileth: I was bowed down at the hearing of it; I was dismayed at the seeing of it.
4 My heart panted, fearfulness affrighted me: the night of my pleasure hath he turned into fear unto me.
5 Prepare the table, watch in the watchtower, eat, drink: arise, ye princes, and anoint the shield.
6 For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Go, set a watchman, let him declare what he seeth.
7 And he saw a chariot with a couple of horsemen, a chariot of asses, and a chariot of camels; and he hearkened diligently with much heed:
8 And he cried, A lion: My lord, I stand continually upon the watchtower in the daytime, and I am set in my ward whole nights:
9 And, behold, here cometh a chariot of men, with a couple of horsemen. And he answered and said, Babylon is fallen, is fallen; and all the graven images of her gods he hath broken unto the ground.
10 O my threshing, and the corn of my floor: that which I have heard of the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, have I declared unto you.
11 The burden of Dumah. He calleth to me out of Seir, Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?
12 The watchman said, The morning cometh, and also the night: if ye will enquire, enquire ye: return, come.
13 The burden upon Arabia. In the forest in Arabia shall ye lodge, O ye travelling companies of Dedanim.
14 The inhabitants of the land of Tema brought water to him that was thirsty, they prevented with their bread him that fled.
15 For they fled from the swords, from the drawn sword, and from the bent bow, and from the grievousness of war.
16 For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Within a year, according to the years of an hireling, and all the glory of Kedar shall fail:
17 And the residue of the number of archers, the mighty men of the children of Kedar, shall be diminished: for the Lord God of Israel hath spoken it.
22 The burden of the valley of vision. What aileth thee now, that thou art wholly gone up to the housetops?
2 Thou that art full of stirs, a tumultuous city, joyous city: thy slain men are not slain with the sword, nor dead in battle.
3 All thy rulers are fled together, they are bound by the archers: all that are found in thee are bound together, which have fled from far.
4 Therefore said I, Look away from me; I will weep bitterly, labour not to comfort me, because of the spoiling of the daughter of my people.
5 For it is a day of trouble, and of treading down, and of perplexity by the Lord God of hosts in the valley of vision, breaking down the walls, and of crying to the mountains.
6 And Elam bare the quiver with chariots of men and horsemen, and Kir uncovered the shield.
7 And it shall come to pass, that thy choicest valleys shall be full of chariots, and the horsemen shall set themselves in array at the gate.
8 And he discovered the covering of Judah, and thou didst look in that day to the armour of the house of the forest.
9 Ye have seen also the breaches of the city of David, that they are many: and ye gathered together the waters of the lower pool.
10 And ye have numbered the houses of Jerusalem, and the houses have ye broken down to fortify the wall.
11 Ye made also a ditch between the two walls for the water of the old pool: but ye have not looked unto the maker thereof, neither had respect unto him that fashioned it long ago.
12 And in that day did the Lord God of hosts call to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth:
13 And behold joy and gladness, slaying oxen, and killing sheep, eating flesh, and drinking wine: let us eat and drink; for to morrow we shall die.
14 And it was revealed in mine ears by the Lord of hosts, Surely this iniquity shall not be purged from you till ye die, saith the Lord God of hosts.
15 Thus saith the Lord God of hosts, Go, get thee unto this treasurer, even unto Shebna, which is over the house, and say,
16 What hast thou here? and whom hast thou here, that thou hast hewed thee out a sepulchre here, as he that heweth him out a sepulchre on high, and that graveth an habitation for himself in a rock?
17 Behold, the Lord will carry thee away with a mighty captivity, and will surely cover thee.
18 He will surely violently turn and toss thee like a ball into a large country: there shalt thou die, and there the chariots of thy glory shall be the shame of thy lord's house.
19 And I will drive thee from thy station, and from thy state shall he pull thee down.
20 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah:
21 And I will clothe him with thy robe, and strengthen him with thy girdle, and I will commit thy government into his hand: and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah.
22 And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.
23 And I will fasten him as a nail in a sure place; and he shall be for a glorious throne to his father's house.
24 And they shall hang upon him all the glory of his father's house, the offspring and the issue, all vessels of small quantity, from the vessels of cups, even to all the vessels of flagons.
25 In that day, saith the Lord of hosts, shall the nail that is fastened in the sure place be removed, and be cut down, and fall; and the burden that was upon it shall be cut off: for the Lord hath spoken it.
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