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Isaiah 31-34
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Isaiah 31-34
Holman Christian Standard Bible
The Lord, the Only Help
31 Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help(A)
and who depend on horses!
They trust in the abundance of chariots
and in the large number of horsemen.(B)
They do not look(C) to the Holy One of Israel
and they do not seek the Lord’s help.
2 But He also is wise and brings disaster.(D)
He does not go back on what He says;(E)
He will rise up against the house of wicked men
and against the allies of evildoers.
3 Egyptians are men, not God;
their horses are flesh, not spirit.
When the Lord raises His hand to strike,
the helper will stumble
and the one who is helped will fall;
both will perish together.
4 For this is what the Lord said to me:
As a lion or young lion growls over its prey(F)
when a band of shepherds is called out against it,
and is not terrified by their shouting
or subdued by their noise,
so the Lord of Hosts will come down
to fight on Mount Zion
and on its hill.(G)
5 Like hovering birds,
so the Lord of Hosts will protect Jerusalem(H)—
by protecting it, He will rescue it,
by sparing it, He will deliver it.
6 Return to the One the Israelites have greatly rebelled against.(I) 7 For on that day, every one of you will reject the silver and gold idols that your own hands have sinfully made.(J)
8 Then Assyria will fall,
but not by human sword;
a sword will devour him,
but not one made by man.(K)
He will flee from the sword;
his young men will be put to forced labor.(L)
9 His rock[a] will pass away because of fear,(M)
and his officers will be afraid because of the signal flag.(N)
This is the Lord’s declaration—whose fire is in Zion and whose furnace is in Jerusalem.(O)
The Righteous Kingdom Announced
32 Indeed, a king will reign righteously,
and rulers will rule justly.(P)
2 Each will be like a shelter from the wind,
a refuge from the rain,(Q)
like streams of water(R) in a dry land
and the shade of a massive rock in an arid land.
3 Then the eyes of those who see will not be closed,
and the ears of those who hear will listen.(S)
4 The reckless mind will gain knowledge,
and the stammering tongue(T) will speak clearly and fluently.
5 A fool will no longer be called a noble,(U)
nor a scoundrel said to be important.
6 For a fool speaks foolishness
and his mind plots iniquity.
He lives in a godless way
and speaks falsely about the Lord.
He leaves the hungry empty
and deprives the thirsty of drink.(V)
7 The scoundrel’s weapons are destructive;
he hatches plots to destroy the needy with lies,
even when the poor says what is right.
8 But a noble person plans noble things;
he stands up for noble causes.
9 Stand up, you complacent women;(W)
listen to me.
Pay attention to what I say,
you overconfident daughters.
10 In a little more than a year
you overconfident ones will shudder,
for the vintage will fail
and the harvest will not come.
11 Shudder, you complacent ones;
tremble, you overconfident ones!
Strip yourselves bare(X)
and put sackcloth around your waists.
12 Beat your breasts in mourning(Y)
for the delightful fields and the fruitful vines,(Z)
13 for the ground of my people
growing thorns and briers,(AA)
indeed, for every joyous house in the joyful city.
14 For the palace will be forsaken,
the busy city abandoned.
The hill and the watchtower will become
barren places forever,
the joy of wild donkeys,
and a pasture for flocks,
15 until the Spirit from heaven is poured out on us.(AB)
Then the desert will become an orchard,
and the orchard will seem like a forest.(AC)
16 Then justice will inhabit the wilderness,
and righteousness will dwell in the orchard.
17 The result of righteousness will be peace;(AD)
the effect of righteousness
will be quiet confidence forever.
18 Then my people will dwell in a peaceful place,
in safe and secure dwellings.
19 But hail will level the forest,[b](AE)
and the city will sink into the depths.(AF)
20 Those who sow seed are happy
beside abundant waters;(AG)
they let ox and donkey range freely.(AH)
The Lord Rises Up
33 Woe, you destroyer never destroyed,
you traitor never betrayed!
When you have finished destroying,
you will be destroyed.
When you have finished betraying,
they will betray you.(AI)
2 Lord, be gracious to us! We wait for You.(AJ)
Be our strength every morning
and our salvation in time of trouble.(AK)
3 The peoples flee at the thunderous noise;(AL)
the nations scatter when You rise in Your majesty.
4 Your spoil will be gathered as locusts are gathered;
people will swarm over it like an infestation of locusts.
5 The Lord is exalted, for He dwells on high;
He has filled Zion with justice and righteousness.
6 There will be times of security for you—
a storehouse of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge.
The fear of the Lord is Zion’s treasure.(AM)
7 Listen! Their warriors cry loudly in the streets;
the messengers of peace weep bitterly.(AN)
8 The highways are deserted;
travel has ceased.
An agreement has been broken,(AO)
cities[c] despised,
and human life disregarded.
9 The land mourns and withers;(AP)
Lebanon is ashamed and decayed.
Sharon is like a desert;
Bashan and Carmel shake off their leaves.
10 “Now I will rise up,”(AQ) says the Lord.
“Now I will lift Myself up.
Now I will be exalted.
11 You will conceive chaff;(AR)
you will give birth to stubble.
Your breath is fire that will consume you.
12 The peoples will be burned to ashes,
like thorns cut down and burned in a fire.
13 You who are far off, hear what I have done;
you who are near,(AS) know My strength.”
14 The sinners in Zion are afraid;
trembling seizes the ungodly:
“Who among us can dwell with a consuming fire?(AT)
Who among us can dwell with ever-burning flames?”
15 The one who lives righteously
and speaks rightly,(AU)
who refuses gain from extortion,
whose hand never takes a bribe,
who stops his ears from listening to murderous plots[d]
and shuts his eyes to avoid endorsing evil[e](AV)—
16 he will dwell on the heights;
his refuge will be the rocky fortresses,
his food provided, his water assured.
17 Your eyes will see the King in His beauty;(AW)
you will see a vast land.(AX)
18 Your mind will meditate on the past terror:
“Where is the accountant?[f]
Where is the tribute collector?[g]
Where is the one who spied out our defenses?”[h]
19 You will no longer see the barbarians,
a people whose speech is difficult to comprehend—
who stammer in a language that is not understood.(AY)
20 Look at Zion, the city of our festival times.
Your eyes will see Jerusalem,
a peaceful pasture,(AZ) a tent that does not wander;
its tent pegs will not be pulled up
nor will any of its cords be loosened.(BA)
21 For the majestic One, our Lord, will be there,(BB)
a place of rivers and broad streams
where ships that are rowed will not go,
and majestic vessels will not pass.(BC)
22 For the Lord is our Judge,
the Lord is our lawgiver,(BD)
the Lord is our King.
He will save us.(BE)
23 Your ropes are slack;
they cannot hold the base of the mast
or spread out the flag.
Then abundant spoil will be divided,
the lame will plunder it,
24 and none there will say, “I am sick.”
The people who dwell there
will be forgiven(BF) their iniquity.(BG)
The Judgment of the Nations
34 You nations, come here and listen;
you peoples, pay attention!(BH)
Let the earth hear, and all that fills it,
the world and all that comes from it.(BI)
2 The Lord is angry with all the nations—
furious with all their armies.(BJ)
He will set them apart for destruction,(BK)
giving them over to slaughter.
3 Their slain will be thrown out,
and the stench of their corpses will rise;(BL)
the mountains will flow[i] with their blood.(BM)
4 All[j] the heavenly bodies(BN) will dissolve.
The skies will roll up like a scroll,(BO)
and their stars will all wither
as leaves wither on the vine,
and foliage on the fig tree.(BP)
The Judgment of Edom
5 When My sword has drunk its fill[k](BQ) in the heavens,
it will then come down on Edom(BR)
and on the people I have set apart for destruction.
6 The Lord’s sword is covered with blood.
It drips with fat,
with the blood of lambs and goats,
with the fat of the kidneys of rams.(BS)
For the Lord has a sacrifice in Bozrah,(BT)
a great slaughter in the land of Edom.
7 The wild oxen will be struck[l] down with them,
and young bulls with the mighty bulls.
Their land will be soaked with[m] blood,
and their soil will be saturated with fat.
8 For the Lord has a day of vengeance,(BU)
a time of paying back Edom
for its hostility against Zion.
9 Edom’s streams will be turned into pitch,
her soil into sulfur;(BV)
her land will become burning pitch.
10 It will never go out—day or night.
Its smoke will go up forever.(BW)
It will be desolate, from generation to generation;
no one will pass through it forever and ever.(BX)
11 The desert owl[n] and the screech owl[o] will possess it,
and the great owl and the raven will dwell there.(BY)
The Lord will stretch out a measuring line
and a plumb line over her
for her destruction and chaos.(BZ)
12 No nobles will be left to proclaim a king,
and all her princes will come to nothing.
13 Her palaces will be overgrown with thorns;
her fortified cities, with thistles and briers.(CA)
She will become a dwelling for jackals,
an abode[p] for ostriches.(CB)
14 The desert creatures will meet hyenas,
and one wild goat will call to another.
Indeed, the screech owl will stay there
and will find a resting place for herself.
15 The sand partridge[q] will make her nest there;
she will lay and hatch her eggs
and will gather her brood under her shadow.
Indeed, the birds of prey will gather there,
each with its mate.(CC)
16 Search and read the scroll of the Lord:(CD)
Not one of them will be missing,
none will be lacking its mate,
because He has ordered it by my[r] mouth,
and He will gather them by His Spirit.
17 He has ordained a lot for them;
His hand allotted their portion with a measuring line.
They will possess it forever;(CE)
they will dwell in it from generation to generation.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 31:9 Perhaps the Assyrian king
- Isaiah 32:19 Hb obscure
- Isaiah 33:8 DSS read witnesses
- Isaiah 33:15 Lit to bloods
- Isaiah 33:15 Lit eyes from seeing evil
- Isaiah 33:18 Lit counter
- Isaiah 33:18 Lit weigher
- Isaiah 33:18 Lit who counts towers
- Isaiah 34:3 Or melt, or dissolve
- Isaiah 34:4 DSS read And the valleys will be split, and all
- Isaiah 34:5 DSS read sword will appear
- Isaiah 34:7 Or will go
- Isaiah 34:7 Or will drink its fill of
- Isaiah 34:11 Or The pelican
- Isaiah 34:11 Or the hedgehog
- Isaiah 34:13 DSS, LXX, Syr, Tg; MT reads jackals, grass
- Isaiah 34:15 Or The arrow snake, or The owl
- Isaiah 34:16 Some Hb mss; other Hb mss, DSS, Syr, Tg read His
Isaiah 31-34
New International Version
Isaiah 31-34
New International Version
Woe to Those Who Rely on Egypt
31 Woe(A) to those who go down to Egypt(B) for help,
who rely on horses,(C)
who trust in the multitude of their chariots(D)
and in the great strength of their horsemen,
but do not look to the Holy One(E) of Israel,
or seek help from the Lord.(F)
2 Yet he too is wise(G) and can bring disaster;(H)
he does not take back his words.(I)
He will rise up against that wicked nation,(J)
against those who help evildoers.
3 But the Egyptians(K) are mere mortals and not God;(L)
their horses(M) are flesh and not spirit.
When the Lord stretches out his hand,(N)
those who help will stumble,
those who are helped(O) will fall;
all will perish together.(P)
4 This is what the Lord says to me:
“As a lion(Q) growls,
a great lion over its prey—
and though a whole band of shepherds(R)
is called together against it,
it is not frightened by their shouts
or disturbed by their clamor(S)—
so the Lord Almighty will come down(T)
to do battle on Mount Zion and on its heights.
5 Like birds hovering(U) overhead,
the Lord Almighty will shield(V) Jerusalem;
he will shield it and deliver(W) it,
he will ‘pass over’(X) it and will rescue it.”
6 Return,(Y) you Israelites, to the One you have so greatly revolted(Z) against. 7 For in that day(AA) every one of you will reject the idols of silver and gold(AB) your sinful hands have made.(AC)
8 “Assyria(AD) will fall by no human sword;
a sword, not of mortals, will devour(AE) them.
They will flee before the sword
and their young men will be put to forced labor.(AF)
9 Their stronghold(AG) will fall because of terror;
at the sight of the battle standard(AH) their commanders will panic,(AI)”
declares the Lord,
whose fire(AJ) is in Zion,
whose furnace(AK) is in Jerusalem.
The Kingdom of Righteousness
32 See, a king(AL) will reign in righteousness
and rulers will rule with justice.(AM)
2 Each one will be like a shelter(AN) from the wind
and a refuge from the storm,(AO)
like streams of water(AP) in the desert(AQ)
and the shadow of a great rock in a thirsty land.
3 Then the eyes of those who see will no longer be closed,(AR)
and the ears(AS) of those who hear will listen.
4 The fearful heart will know and understand,(AT)
and the stammering tongue(AU) will be fluent and clear.
5 No longer will the fool(AV) be called noble
nor the scoundrel be highly respected.
6 For fools speak folly,(AW)
their hearts are bent on evil:(AX)
They practice ungodliness(AY)
and spread error(AZ) concerning the Lord;
the hungry they leave empty(BA)
and from the thirsty they withhold water.
7 Scoundrels use wicked methods,(BB)
they make up evil schemes(BC)
to destroy the poor with lies,
even when the plea of the needy(BD) is just.(BE)
8 But the noble make noble plans,
and by noble deeds(BF) they stand.(BG)
The Women of Jerusalem
9 You women(BH) who are so complacent,
rise up and listen(BI) to me;
you daughters who feel secure,(BJ)
hear what I have to say!
10 In little more than a year(BK)
you who feel secure will tremble;
the grape harvest will fail,(BL)
and the harvest of fruit will not come.
11 Tremble,(BM) you complacent women;
shudder, you daughters who feel secure!(BN)
Strip off your fine clothes(BO)
and wrap yourselves in rags.(BP)
12 Beat your breasts(BQ) for the pleasant fields,
for the fruitful vines(BR)
13 and for the land of my people,
a land overgrown with thorns and briers(BS)—
yes, mourn(BT) for all houses of merriment
and for this city of revelry.(BU)
14 The fortress(BV) will be abandoned,
the noisy city deserted;(BW)
citadel and watchtower(BX) will become a wasteland forever,
the delight of donkeys,(BY) a pasture for flocks,(BZ)
15 till the Spirit(CA) is poured on us from on high,
and the desert becomes a fertile field,(CB)
and the fertile field seems like a forest.(CC)
16 The Lord’s justice(CD) will dwell in the desert,(CE)
his righteousness(CF) live in the fertile field.
17 The fruit of that righteousness(CG) will be peace;(CH)
its effect will be quietness and confidence(CI) forever.
18 My people will live in peaceful(CJ) dwelling places,
in secure homes,(CK)
in undisturbed places of rest.(CL)
19 Though hail(CM) flattens the forest(CN)
and the city is leveled(CO) completely,
20 how blessed you will be,
sowing(CP) your seed by every stream,(CQ)
and letting your cattle and donkeys range free.(CR)
Distress and Help
33 Woe(CS) to you, destroyer,
you who have not been destroyed!
Woe to you, betrayer,
you who have not been betrayed!
When you stop destroying,
you will be destroyed;(CT)
when you stop betraying,
you will be betrayed.(CU)
2 Lord, be gracious(CV) to us;
we long for you.
Be our strength(CW) every morning,
our salvation(CX) in time of distress.(CY)
3 At the uproar of your army,(CZ) the peoples flee;(DA)
when you rise up,(DB) the nations scatter.
4 Your plunder,(DC) O nations, is harvested(DD) as by young locusts;(DE)
like a swarm of locusts people pounce on it.
5 The Lord is exalted,(DF) for he dwells on high;(DG)
he will fill Zion with his justice(DH) and righteousness.(DI)
6 He will be the sure foundation for your times,
a rich store of salvation(DJ) and wisdom and knowledge;
the fear(DK) of the Lord is the key to this treasure.[a](DL)
7 Look, their brave men(DM) cry aloud in the streets;
the envoys(DN) of peace weep bitterly.
8 The highways are deserted,
no travelers(DO) are on the roads.(DP)
The treaty is broken,(DQ)
its witnesses[b] are despised,
no one is respected.
9 The land dries up(DR) and wastes away,
Lebanon(DS) is ashamed and withers;(DT)
Sharon(DU) is like the Arabah,
and Bashan(DV) and Carmel(DW) drop their leaves.
10 “Now will I arise,(DX)” says the Lord.
“Now will I be exalted;(DY)
now will I be lifted up.
11 You conceive(DZ) chaff,
you give birth(EA) to straw;
your breath is a fire(EB) that consumes you.
12 The peoples will be burned to ashes;(EC)
like cut thornbushes(ED) they will be set ablaze.(EE)”
13 You who are far away,(EF) hear(EG) what I have done;
you who are near, acknowledge my power!
14 The sinners(EH) in Zion are terrified;
trembling(EI) grips the godless:
“Who of us can dwell with the consuming fire?(EJ)
Who of us can dwell with everlasting burning?”
15 Those who walk righteously(EK)
and speak what is right,(EL)
who reject gain from extortion(EM)
and keep their hands from accepting bribes,(EN)
who stop their ears against plots of murder
and shut their eyes(EO) against contemplating evil—
16 they are the ones who will dwell on the heights,(EP)
whose refuge(EQ) will be the mountain fortress.(ER)
Their bread will be supplied,
and water will not fail(ES) them.
17 Your eyes will see the king(ET) in his beauty(EU)
and view a land that stretches afar.(EV)
18 In your thoughts you will ponder the former terror:(EW)
“Where is that chief officer?
Where is the one who took the revenue?
Where is the officer in charge of the towers?(EX)”
19 You will see those arrogant people(EY) no more,
people whose speech is obscure,
whose language is strange and incomprehensible.(EZ)
20 Look on Zion,(FA) the city of our festivals;
your eyes will see Jerusalem,
a peaceful abode,(FB) a tent(FC) that will not be moved;(FD)
its stakes will never be pulled up,
nor any of its ropes broken.
21 There the Lord will be our Mighty(FE) One.
It will be like a place of broad rivers and streams.(FF)
No galley with oars will ride them,
no mighty ship(FG) will sail them.
22 For the Lord is our judge,(FH)
the Lord is our lawgiver,(FI)
the Lord is our king;(FJ)
it is he who will save(FK) us.
23 Your rigging hangs loose:
The mast is not held secure,
the sail is not spread.
Then an abundance of spoils will be divided
and even the lame(FL) will carry off plunder.(FM)
24 No one living in Zion will say, “I am ill”;(FN)
and the sins of those who dwell there will be forgiven.(FO)
Judgment Against the Nations
34 Come near, you nations, and listen;(FP)
pay attention, you peoples!(FQ)
Let the earth(FR) hear, and all that is in it,
the world, and all that comes out of it!(FS)
2 The Lord is angry with all nations;
his wrath(FT) is on all their armies.
He will totally destroy[c](FU) them,
he will give them over to slaughter.(FV)
3 Their slain(FW) will be thrown out,
their dead bodies(FX) will stink;(FY)
the mountains will be soaked with their blood.(FZ)
4 All the stars in the sky will be dissolved(GA)
and the heavens rolled up(GB) like a scroll;
all the starry host will fall(GC)
like withered(GD) leaves from the vine,
like shriveled figs from the fig tree.
5 My sword(GE) has drunk its fill in the heavens;
see, it descends in judgment on Edom,(GF)
the people I have totally destroyed.(GG)
6 The sword(GH) of the Lord is bathed in blood,
it is covered with fat—
the blood of lambs and goats,
fat from the kidneys of rams.
For the Lord has a sacrifice(GI) in Bozrah(GJ)
and a great slaughter(GK) in the land of Edom.
7 And the wild oxen(GL) will fall with them,
the bull calves and the great bulls.(GM)
Their land will be drenched with blood,(GN)
and the dust will be soaked with fat.
8 For the Lord has a day(GO) of vengeance,(GP)
a year of retribution,(GQ) to uphold Zion’s cause.
9 Edom’s streams will be turned into pitch,
her dust into burning sulfur;(GR)
her land will become blazing pitch!
10 It will not be quenched(GS) night or day;
its smoke will rise forever.(GT)
From generation to generation(GU) it will lie desolate;(GV)
no one will ever pass through it again.
11 The desert owl[d](GW) and screech owl[e] will possess it;
the great owl[f] and the raven(GX) will nest there.
God will stretch out over Edom(GY)
the measuring line of chaos(GZ)
and the plumb line(HA) of desolation.
12 Her nobles will have nothing there to be called a kingdom,
all her princes(HB) will vanish(HC) away.
13 Thorns(HD) will overrun her citadels,
nettles and brambles her strongholds.(HE)
She will become a haunt for jackals,(HF)
a home for owls.(HG)
14 Desert creatures(HH) will meet with hyenas,(HI)
and wild goats will bleat to each other;
there the night creatures(HJ) will also lie down
and find for themselves places of rest.
15 The owl will nest there and lay eggs,
she will hatch them, and care for her young
under the shadow of her wings;(HK)
there also the falcons(HL) will gather,
each with its mate.
16 Look in the scroll(HM) of the Lord and read:
None of these will be missing,(HN)
not one will lack her mate.
For it is his mouth(HO) that has given the order,(HP)
and his Spirit will gather them together.
17 He allots their portions;(HQ)
his hand distributes them by measure.
They will possess it forever
and dwell there from generation to generation.(HR)
Footnotes
- Isaiah 33:6 Or is a treasure from him
- Isaiah 33:8 Dead Sea Scrolls; Masoretic Text / the cities
- Isaiah 34:2 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them; also in verse 5.
- Isaiah 34:11 The precise identification of these birds is uncertain.
- Isaiah 34:11 The precise identification of these birds is uncertain.
- Isaiah 34:11 The precise identification of these birds is uncertain.
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