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Isaiah 23-27
Easy-to-Read Version
Isaiah 23-27
Easy-to-Read Version
God’s Message About Tyre
23 This is a message[a] about Tyre:
Ships traveling from Cyprus heard this message:
“Cry, you ships from Tarshish[b]!
Your harbor has been destroyed.”
2 You people living near the sea, mourn in silence.
The merchants of Sidon sent traders across the sea
and filled the city with riches.
3 They traveled the seas looking for grain.
The men from Tyre bought grain that grows near the Nile River
and sold it to other nations.
4 Sidon, you should be very sad,
because now the Sea and the Fort of the Sea[c] say,
“I have no children.
I have never felt the pain of birth;
I have never given birth to children.
I have never raised young men and women.”
5 When Egypt hears the news about Tyre,
it will feel the pain of sorrow.
6 You ships, try to escape to Tarshish!
Cry out, you people living near the sea!
7 Can this be that happy city that was founded so long ago?
Is it that same city whose people traveled so far to settle other lands?[d]
8 This city produced so many leaders.
Its merchants were like princes.
Its traders had the whole world’s respect.
So who made these plans against Tyre?
9 It was the Lord All-Powerful.
He decided to destroy the great things they were so proud of.
He wanted to disgrace those who were so highly respected.
10 Ships from Tarshish, go back home.
Cross the sea as if it were a river.
No one will stop you now.
11 The Lord raised his arm over the sea
to make the kingdoms angry enough to fight against Tyre.
He commanded Canaan
to destroy her place of safety.[e]
12 He said, “Daughter Sidon,[f] you have been hurt badly,
so you will no longer rejoice like a bride.
Go ahead, go to Cyprus[g] for help,
but you will not find a place to rest there either.”
13 As for Babylon, look at the land of the Chaldeans!
It is not even a country now.
Assyria built war towers to attack it.
The soldiers took everything from the beautiful houses.
Assyria destroyed Babylon.
They turned it into a pile of ruins
and made it a place for wild animals.
14 So be sad, you ships from Tarshish.
Your place of safety has been destroyed.
15 People will forget about Tyre for 70 years—that is, about the length of a king’s rule. After 70 years, Tyre will be like the prostitute in this song:
16 “Oh, woman who men forgot,
take your harp and walk through the city.
Play your song well and sing it often.
Maybe someone will remember you.”
17 After 70 years, the Lord will review Tyre’s case, and he will give her a decision. Tyre will again have trade. She will be like a prostitute for all the nations on earth. 18 But Tyre will not keep the money she earns. The profit from her trade will be saved for the Lord. Tyre will give that money to the people who serve the Lord to buy good food and nice clothes.
God Will Punish Israel
24 Look, the Lord is destroying this land.[h] He will clean out the land completely and force all the people to go far away. 2 At that time whatever happens to the common people will also happen to the priests. Slaves and masters will be the same. Women slaves and their women masters will be the same. Buyers and sellers will be the same. Those who borrow and those who lend will be the same. Bankers and those who owe the bank will be the same. 3 Everyone will be forced out of the land. All the wealth will be taken. This will happen because the Lord commanded it. 4 The country will be empty and sad. The world will be empty and weak. The great leaders of the people in this land will become weak.
5 The people have ruined the land. They did what God said was wrong. They did not obey God’s laws. They made an agreement with God a long time ago, but they broke their agreement with God. 6 The people living in this land are guilty of doing wrong, so God promised to destroy the land. The people will be punished, and only a few of them will survive.
7 The grapevines are dying. The new wine is bad. People who were happy are now sad. 8 They have stopped showing their joy. The happy music from the drums and harps has ended. 9 They no longer sing as they drink their wine. The beer now tastes bitter to those who drink it.
10 “Total Confusion” is a good name for this city. The city has been destroyed. People cannot enter the houses. The doors are blocked. 11 People still ask for wine in the marketplaces, but all the joy is gone. It was carried off with everything else. 12 All that is left is destruction. Even the gates are crushed.
13 At harvest time, people knock olives from the trees.
But a few olives are left in the trees.
It will be like that in this land and among the nations.
14 Those who are left will begin shouting louder than the ocean.
They will rejoice about the Lord’s greatness.
15 They will say, “People in the east, praise the Lord!
People in faraway lands,
praise the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.”
16 We hear songs of praise for God from every place on earth.
They praise the God who does what is right.
But I say, “Enough!
I have had enough.
What I see is terrible.
Traitors are turning against people and hurting them.”
17 I see troubles for you people living in this land.
I see fear, pits, and problems all around.
18 People will hear about the danger,
and they will be afraid.
Some of them will run away,
but they will fall into holes and be trapped.
Some of them will climb out of the holes,
but they will be caught in another trap.
The floodgates in the sky above will open,
and the floods will begin.
The foundations of the earth will shake.
19 There will be earthquakes,
and the earth will split open.
20 The sins of the world are very heavy,
so the earth will fall under the weight.
It will shake like an old house.
It will fall like a drunk.
It will not be able to stand.
21 At that time the Lord will judge
the heavenly armies in heaven
and the earthly kings on earth.
22 Many people will be gathered together.
They have been locked in the Pit.
They have been in prison.[i]
But finally, after a long time, they will be judged.
23 The Lord will rule as king on Mount Zion in Jerusalem.
His Glory will be shown to the city leaders with such brightness that
the moon will be embarrassed
and the sun will be ashamed.
A Song of Praise to God
25 Lord, you are my God.
I honor you and praise your name,
because you did amazing things.
The words you said long ago are completely true;
everything happened exactly as you said it would.
2 And you destroyed the city that was protected by strong walls.
Now it is only a pile of rocks.
The foreign palace has been destroyed.
It will never be rebuilt.
3 That is why powerful nations will honor you.
Powerful people from strong cities will fear you.
4 You have been a safe place for poor people in trouble.
You are like a shelter from floods and shade from the heat
when powerful men attack.
They are like rain streaming down the walls
that protect us from the storm.
5 Like the heat of summer in a dry land,
the angry shouts of those foreigners brought us to our knees.
But like a thick cloud that blocks the summer heat,
you answered their challenge.
God’s Banquet for His Servants
6 The Lord All-Powerful will give a feast for all the people on this mountain. At the feast, there will be the best foods and wines. The meat will be good and tender, the wine pure and clear.
7 But now there is a veil covering all nations and people. This veil is called “death.” 8 But death will be destroyed forever.[j] And the Lord God will wipe away every tear from every face. In the past, all of his people were sad, but God will take away that sadness from the earth. All of this will happen because the Lord said it would.
9 At that time people will say,
“Here is our God!
He is the one we have been waiting for.
He has come to save us.
We have been waiting for our Lord.
So we will rejoice and be happy when he saves us.”
10 The Lord’s power is on this mountain,
and Moab[k] will be defeated.
The Lord will trample the enemy
like someone walking on straw in a pile of waste.
11 They will reach out their arms to escape
like someone trying to swim.
But their pride will sink
with each stroke they take.
12 He will destroy their high walls and safe places.
He will throw them down into the dust on the ground.
A Song of Praise to God
26 At that time people will sing this song in Judah:
We have a strong city with strong walls and defenses.
But God gives us our salvation.[l]
2 Open the gates for the good people to enter.
They are the God’s faithful followers.
3 God, you give true peace
to people who depend on you,
to those who trust in you.
4 So trust the Lord always,
because in the Lord Yah[m] you have a place of safety forever.
5 But he will destroy the proud city
and punish those who live there.
He will throw that high city down to the ground.
It will fall into the dust.
6 Then poor and humble people will walk on those ruins.
7 Honesty is the path good people follow.
They follow the path that is straight and true.
And God, you make that way smooth
and easy to follow.
8 But, Lord, we are waiting for your way of justice.
We want to honor you and your name.
9 At night my soul longs to be with you,
and the spirit in me wants to be with you at the dawn of every new day.
When your way of justice comes to the world,
people will learn the right way of living.
10 Evil people will not learn to do good,
even if you show them only kindness.
They will still do wrong, even if they live in a good world.
They never see the Lord’s greatness.
11 Lord, your arm is raised to punish them,
but they don’t see it.
Show them how strong your love[n] is for your people.
Then those who are evil will be ashamed.
Yes, your fire will destroy your enemies.
12 Lord, you have succeeded in doing everything we tried to do,
so give us peace.
God Will Give New Life to His People
13 Lord, you are our God,
but in the past, we followed other lords.
We belonged to other masters,[o]
but now we want people to remember only one name—yours.
14 Those dead lords will not come to life.
Those ghosts will not rise from death.
You decided to destroy them,
and you destroyed everything that makes us think about them.
15 Lord, you have helped the nation you love.
You made our nation grow
and brought honor to yourself.[p]
16 Lord, people remember you
when they are in trouble.
So because of your punishment,
we called out to you.
17 Lord, because of you we were in pain,
like a woman giving birth,
who struggles and cries out when it is time.
18 But we struggled in pain for nothing.
We gave birth only to wind.
We did nothing to save the land.
No one was born to live in the world.
19 But the Lord says,
“Your people have died,
but they will live again.
The bodies of my people
will rise from death.
Dead people in the ground,
stand and be happy!
The dew covering you is like
the dew sparkling in the light of a new day.
It shows that a new time is coming,
when the earth will give birth to the dead who are in it.”
Judgment: Reward or Punishment
20 My people, go into your rooms
and lock your doors.
Hide in there for a short time
until God’s anger is finished.
21 Look! The Lord is coming out from his place[q]
to judge the people of the world for the bad things they have done.
The earth will reveal the blood that has been spilled on it.
It will no longer hide the proof of those murders.
27 At that time the Lord will judge Leviathan,[r]
the crooked snake.
He will use his great sword, his hard and powerful sword,
to punish Leviathan, that twisting, turning snake.
He will kill the monster of the sea.[s]
2 At that time people will sing
about the pleasant vineyard.
3 “I, the Lord, will care for the vineyard.
I will water it at the right time.
I will guard it day and night.
No one will hurt it.
4 I am not angry.
But if there is war and someone builds a wall of thornbushes,[t]
then I will march to it and burn it.
5 But if anyone comes to me for safety
and wants to make peace with me,
then let them come and make peace.
6 In the future, Jacob will take root firmly on his soil.
Then Israel will sprout and bloom,
and the world will be filled with his fruit.”
God Will Send Israel Away
7 Israel was not hurt as badly as the enemy who tried to hurt it. Not as many of its people were killed as those who tried to kill them.
8 The Lord will settle his argument with Israel by sending the people far away. He will speak harshly to Israel. His words will burn like the hot desert wind.
9 How will Jacob’s guilt be forgiven? What will happen so his sins can be taken away? The rocks of the altar will be crushed to dust; the statues[u] and altars for worshiping false gods will all be destroyed.
10 The great city will be empty; it will be like a desert. All the people will be gone—they will run away. The city will be like an open pasture. Young cattle will eat grass there. The cattle will eat leaves from the branches of the vines. 11 The vines will become dry, and the branches will break off. Women will use them for firewood.
The people refuse to understand. So God, their Maker, will not comfort them or be kind to them.
12 At that time the Lord will begin separating his people from others. He will begin at the Euphrates River and will gather his people from there[v] to the River of Egypt.[w]
You people of Israel will be gathered together one by one. 13 Many of my people are now lost in Assyria. Some of my people have run away to Egypt. But at that time a great trumpet will be blown, and all those people will come back to Jerusalem. They will bow down before the Lord on that holy mountain.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 23:1 message Or “burden.”
- Isaiah 23:1 ships from Tarshish This is probably a special type of cargo ship. Also in verse 14.
- Isaiah 23:4 Fort of the Sea Another name for the city of Tyre.
- Isaiah 23:7 traveled … other lands? Or “came from so far to live here?”
- Isaiah 23:11 Or “He raised his arm over the sea and shook nations. He gave a command about Canaan to destroy its fortresses.”
- Isaiah 23:12 Daughter Sidon Another name for the city of Sidon.
- Isaiah 23:12 Cyprus Literally, “Kittim.” This could also mean “Crete.”
- Isaiah 24:1 land Or “earth.”
- Isaiah 24:22 Pit … prison This is probably “Sheol,” the grave.
- Isaiah 25:8 But death … forever Some Greek versions have “But death will be swallowed in victory.”
- Isaiah 25:10 Moab Or “the enemy.” This name is like a Hebrew word meaning “enemy.”
- Isaiah 26:1 Or “We have a strong city that provides us with salvation. It has strong walls and defenses.”
- Isaiah 26:4 Lord Yah Or “Yah Yahweh,” a Hebrew name for God.
- Isaiah 26:11 strong … love The Hebrew word means strong feelings like love, hate, anger, zeal, or jealousy.
- Isaiah 26:13 we followed … masters This is a wordplay. It could also be translated, “Husbands other than you married us.” One word sounds like “Baal,” the other like a title for God.
- Isaiah 26:15 Or “You gathered together the nation you love, the nation you drove into faraway lands.”
- Isaiah 26:21 his place Probably the Temple in Jerusalem.
- Isaiah 27:1 Leviathan The Dragon or giant snake. Some ancient stories say the Dragon was an enemy of God.
- Isaiah 27:1 monster of the sea This is probably Rahab. Some ancient stories tell of Rahab fighting with God.
- Isaiah 27:4 a wall of thornbushes Literally, “thorns and thistles.” Farmers planted walls of thornbushes around vineyards to protect them from animals. See Isa. 5:5.
- Isaiah 27:9 statues Or “idols.” See “idol” in the Word List.
- Isaiah 27:12 He will begin … from there Literally, “He will begin threshing at the stream of the river.” This Hebrew word for stream is like the word meaning “head of grain.”
- Isaiah 27:12 Euphrates River … River of Egypt These are the borders of the land God promised to give Israel.
Isaiah 23-27
New International Version
Isaiah 23-27
New International Version
A Prophecy Against Tyre
23 A prophecy against Tyre:(A)
Wail,(B) you ships(C) of Tarshish!(D)
For Tyre is destroyed(E)
and left without house or harbor.
From the land of Cyprus
word has come to them.
2 Be silent,(F) you people of the island
and you merchants(G) of Sidon,(H)
whom the seafarers have enriched.
3 On the great waters
came the grain of the Shihor;(I)
the harvest of the Nile[a](J) was the revenue of Tyre,(K)
and she became the marketplace of the nations.
4 Be ashamed, Sidon,(L) and you fortress of the sea,
for the sea has spoken:
“I have neither been in labor nor given birth;(M)
I have neither reared sons nor brought up daughters.”
5 When word comes to Egypt,
they will be in anguish(N) at the report from Tyre.(O)
6 Cross over to Tarshish;(P)
wail, you people of the island.
7 Is this your city of revelry,(Q)
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(R) are princes,
whose traders(S) are renowned in the earth?
9 The Lord Almighty planned(T) it,
to bring down(U) her pride in all her splendor
and to humble(V) all who are renowned(W) on the earth.
10 Till[b] 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(X) over the sea
and made its kingdoms tremble.(Y)
He has given an order concerning Phoenicia
that her fortresses be destroyed.(Z)
12 He said, “No more of your reveling,(AA)
Virgin Daughter(AB) Sidon, now crushed!
“Up, cross over to Cyprus;(AC)
even there you will find no rest.”
13 Look at the land of the Babylonians,[c](AD)
this people that is now of no account!
The Assyrians(AE) have made it
a place for desert creatures;(AF)
they raised up their siege towers,(AG)
they stripped its fortresses bare
and turned it into a ruin.(AH)
15 At that time Tyre(AL) will be forgotten for seventy years,(AM) 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;(AN)
play the harp well, sing many a song,
so that you will be remembered.”
17 At the end of seventy years,(AO) the Lord will deal with Tyre. She will return to her lucrative prostitution(AP) and will ply her trade with all the kingdoms on the face of the earth.(AQ) 18 Yet her profit and her earnings will be set apart for the Lord;(AR) they will not be stored up or hoarded. Her profits will go to those who live before the Lord,(AS) for abundant food and fine clothes.(AT)
The Lord’s Devastation of the Earth
24 See, the Lord is going to lay waste the earth(AU)
and devastate(AV) it;
he will ruin its face
and scatter(AW) its inhabitants—
2 it will be the same
for priest as for people,(AX)
for the master as for his servant,
for the mistress as for her servant,
for seller as for buyer,(AY)
for borrower as for lender,
for debtor as for creditor.(AZ)
3 The earth will be completely laid waste(BA)
and totally plundered.(BB)
The Lord has spoken(BC) this word.
4 The earth dries up(BD) and withers,(BE)
the world languishes and withers,
the heavens(BF) languish with the earth.(BG)
5 The earth is defiled(BH) by its people;
they have disobeyed(BI) the laws,
violated the statutes
and broken the everlasting covenant.(BJ)
6 Therefore a curse(BK) consumes the earth;
its people must bear their guilt.
Therefore earth’s inhabitants are burned up,(BL)
and very few are left.
7 The new wine dries up(BM) and the vine withers;(BN)
all the merrymakers groan.(BO)
8 The joyful timbrels(BP) are stilled,
the noise(BQ) of the revelers(BR) has stopped,
the joyful harp(BS) is silent.(BT)
9 No longer do they drink wine(BU) with a song;
the beer is bitter(BV) to its drinkers.
10 The ruined city(BW) lies desolate;(BX)
the entrance to every house is barred.
11 In the streets they cry out(BY) for wine;(BZ)
all joy turns to gloom,(CA)
all joyful sounds are banished from the earth.
12 The city is left in ruins,(CB)
its gate(CC) is battered to pieces.
13 So will it be on the earth
and among the nations,
as when an olive tree is beaten,(CD)
or as when gleanings are left after the grape harvest.(CE)
14 They raise their voices, they shout for joy;(CF)
from the west(CG) they acclaim the Lord’s majesty.
15 Therefore in the east(CH) give glory(CI) to the Lord;
exalt(CJ) the name(CK) of the Lord, the God of Israel,
in the islands(CL) of the sea.
16 From the ends of the earth(CM) we hear singing:(CN)
“Glory(CO) to the Righteous One.”(CP)
But I said, “I waste away, I waste away!(CQ)
Woe(CR) to me!
The treacherous(CS) betray!
With treachery the treacherous betray!(CT)”
17 Terror(CU) and pit and snare(CV) await you,
people of the earth.(CW)
18 Whoever flees(CX) at the sound of terror
will fall into a pit;(CY)
whoever climbs out of the pit
will be caught in a snare.(CZ)
The floodgates of the heavens(DA) are opened,
the foundations of the earth shake.(DB)
19 The earth is broken up,(DC)
the earth is split asunder,(DD)
the earth is violently shaken.
20 The earth reels like a drunkard,(DE)
it sways like a hut(DF) in the wind;
so heavy upon it is the guilt of its rebellion(DG)
that it falls(DH)—never to rise again.(DI)
21 In that day(DJ) the Lord will punish(DK)
the powers(DL) in the heavens above
and the kings(DM) on the earth below.
22 They will be herded together
like prisoners(DN) bound in a dungeon;(DO)
they will be shut up in prison
and be punished[d] after many days.(DP)
23 The moon will be dismayed,
the sun(DQ) ashamed;
for the Lord Almighty will reign(DR)
on Mount Zion(DS) and in Jerusalem,
and before its elders—with great glory.(DT)
Praise to the Lord
25 Lord, you are my God;(DU)
I will exalt you and praise your name,(DV)
for in perfect faithfulness(DW)
you have done wonderful things,(DX)
things planned(DY) long ago.
2 You have made the city a heap of rubble,(DZ)
the fortified(EA) town a ruin,(EB)
the foreigners’ stronghold(EC) a city no more;
it will never be rebuilt.(ED)
3 Therefore strong peoples will honor you;(EE)
cities of ruthless(EF) nations will revere you.
4 You have been a refuge(EG) for the poor,(EH)
a refuge for the needy(EI) in their distress,
a shelter from the storm(EJ)
and a shade from the heat.
For the breath of the ruthless(EK)
is like a storm driving against a wall
5 and like the heat of the desert.
You silence(EL) the uproar of foreigners;(EM)
as heat is reduced by the shadow of a cloud,
so the song of the ruthless(EN) is stilled.
6 On this mountain(EO) the Lord Almighty will prepare
a feast(EP) of rich food for all peoples,
a banquet of aged wine—
the best of meats and the finest of wines.(EQ)
7 On this mountain he will destroy
the shroud(ER) that enfolds all peoples,(ES)
the sheet that covers all nations;
8 he will swallow up death(ET) forever.
The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears(EU)
from all faces;
he will remove his people’s disgrace(EV)
from all the earth.
The Lord has spoken.(EW)
9 In that day(EX) they will say,
“Surely this is our God;(EY)
we trusted(EZ) in him, and he saved(FA) us.
This is the Lord, we trusted in him;
let us rejoice(FB) and be glad in his salvation.”(FC)
10 The hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain;(FD)
but Moab(FE) 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(FF) their pride(FG)
despite the cleverness[e] of their hands.
12 He will bring down your high fortified walls(FH)
and lay them low;(FI)
he will bring them down to the ground,
to the very dust.
A Song of Praise
26 In that day(FJ) this song will be sung(FK) in the land of Judah:
We have a strong city;(FL)
God makes salvation
its walls(FM) and ramparts.(FN)
2 Open the gates(FO)
that the righteous(FP) nation may enter,
the nation that keeps faith.
3 You will keep in perfect peace(FQ)
those whose minds are steadfast,
because they trust(FR) in you.
4 Trust(FS) in the Lord forever,(FT)
for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock(FU) eternal.
5 He humbles those who dwell on high,
he lays the lofty city low;
he levels it to the ground(FV)
and casts it down to the dust.(FW)
6 Feet trample(FX) it down—
the feet of the oppressed,(FY)
the footsteps of the poor.(FZ)
7 The path of the righteous is level;(GA)
you, the Upright One,(GB) make the way of the righteous smooth.(GC)
8 Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws,[f](GD)
we wait(GE) for you;
your name(GF) and renown
are the desire of our hearts.
9 My soul yearns for you in the night;(GG)
in the morning my spirit longs(GH) for you.
When your judgments(GI) come upon the earth,
the people of the world learn righteousness.(GJ)
10 But when grace is shown to the wicked,(GK)
they do not learn righteousness;
even in a land of uprightness they go on doing evil(GL)
and do not regard(GM) the majesty of the Lord.
11 Lord, your hand is lifted high,(GN)
but they do not see(GO) it.
Let them see your zeal(GP) for your people and be put to shame;(GQ)
let the fire(GR) reserved for your enemies consume them.
12 Lord, you establish peace(GS) for us;
all that we have accomplished you have done(GT) for us.
13 Lord our God, other lords(GU) besides you have ruled over us,
but your name(GV) alone do we honor.(GW)
14 They are now dead,(GX) they live no more;
their spirits(GY) do not rise.
You punished them and brought them to ruin;(GZ)
you wiped out all memory of them.(HA)
15 You have enlarged the nation, Lord;
you have enlarged the nation.(HB)
You have gained glory for yourself;
you have extended all the borders(HC) of the land.
16 Lord, they came to you in their distress;(HD)
when you disciplined(HE) them,
they could barely whisper(HF) a prayer.[g]
17 As a pregnant woman about to give birth(HG)
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(HH) to wind.
We have not brought salvation(HI) to the earth,
and the people of the world have not come to life.(HJ)
19 But your dead(HK) will live, Lord;
their bodies will rise—
let those who dwell in the dust(HL)
wake up and shout for joy—
your dew(HM) is like the dew of the morning;
the earth will give birth to her dead.(HN)
20 Go, my people, enter your rooms
and shut the doors(HO) behind you;
hide(HP) yourselves for a little while
until his wrath(HQ) has passed by.(HR)
21 See, the Lord is coming(HS) out of his dwelling(HT)
to punish(HU) the people of the earth for their sins.
The earth will disclose the blood(HV) shed on it;
the earth will conceal its slain no longer.
Deliverance of Israel
27 In that day,(HW)
the Lord will punish with his sword(HX)—
his fierce, great and powerful sword—
Leviathan(HY) the gliding serpent,(HZ)
Leviathan the coiling serpent;
he will slay the monster(IA) of the sea.
2 In that day(IB)—
“Sing(IC) about a fruitful vineyard:(ID)
3 I, the Lord, watch over it;
I water(IE) it continually.
I guard(IF) it day and night
so that no one may harm(IG) 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.(IH)
5 Or else let them come to me for refuge;(II)
let them make peace(IJ) with me,
yes, let them make peace with me.”
6 In days to come Jacob will take root,(IK)
Israel will bud and blossom(IL)
and fill all the world with fruit.(IM)
7 Has the Lord struck her
as he struck(IN) down those who struck her?
Has she been killed
as those were killed who killed her?
8 By warfare[h] and exile(IO) you contend with her—
with his fierce blast he drives her out,
as on a day the east wind(IP) blows.
9 By this, then, will Jacob’s guilt be atoned(IQ) for,
and this will be the full fruit of the removal of his sin:(IR)
When he makes all the altar stones(IS)
to be like limestone crushed to pieces,
no Asherah poles[i](IT) or incense altars(IU)
will be left standing.
10 The fortified city stands desolate,(IV)
an abandoned settlement, forsaken(IW) like the wilderness;
there the calves graze,(IX)
there they lie down;(IY)
they strip its branches bare.
11 When its twigs are dry, they are broken off(IZ)
and women come and make fires(JA) with them.
For this is a people without understanding;(JB)
so their Maker has no compassion on them,
and their Creator(JC) shows them no favor.(JD)
12 In that day the Lord will thresh(JE) from the flowing Euphrates to the Wadi of Egypt,(JF) and you, Israel, will be gathered(JG) up one by one. 13 And in that day(JH) a great trumpet(JI) will sound. Those who were perishing in Assyria and those who were exiled(JJ) in Egypt(JK) will come and worship(JL) the Lord on the holy mountain(JM) in Jerusalem.
Footnotes
- 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
- Isaiah 24:22 Or released
- 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
Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)
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