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Isaiah 46-48
New International Version
Isaiah 46-48
New International Version
Gods of Babylon
46 Bel(A) bows down, Nebo stoops low;
their idols(B) are borne by beasts of burden.[a]
The images that are carried(C) about are burdensome,
a burden for the weary.
2 They stoop and bow down together;
unable to rescue the burden,
they themselves go off into captivity.(D)
3 “Listen(E) to me, you descendants of Jacob,
all the remnant(F) of the people of Israel,
you whom I have upheld since your birth,(G)
and have carried(H) since you were born.(I)
4 Even to your old age and gray hairs(J)
I am he,(K) I am he who will sustain you.
I have made you and I will carry you;
I will sustain(L) you and I will rescue you.
5 “With whom will you compare me or count me equal?
To whom will you liken me that we may be compared?(M)
6 Some pour out gold from their bags
and weigh out silver on the scales;
they hire a goldsmith(N) to make it into a god,
and they bow down and worship it.(O)
7 They lift it to their shoulders and carry(P) it;
they set it up in its place, and there it stands.
From that spot it cannot move.(Q)
Even though someone cries out to it, it cannot answer;(R)
it cannot save(S) them from their troubles.
8 “Remember(T) this, keep it in mind,
take it to heart, you rebels.(U)
9 Remember the former things,(V) those of long ago;(W)
I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like me.(X)
10 I make known the end from the beginning,(Y)
from ancient times,(Z) what is still to come.(AA)
I say, ‘My purpose will stand,(AB)
and I will do all that I please.’
11 From the east I summon(AC) a bird of prey;(AD)
from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose.
What I have said, that I will bring about;
what I have planned,(AE) that I will do.(AF)
12 Listen(AG) to me, you stubborn-hearted,(AH)
you who are now far from my righteousness.(AI)
13 I am bringing my righteousness(AJ) near,
it is not far away;
and my salvation(AK) will not be delayed.
I will grant salvation to Zion,(AL)
my splendor(AM) to Israel.
The Fall of Babylon
47 “Go down, sit in the dust,(AN)
Virgin Daughter(AO) Babylon;
sit on the ground without a throne,
queen city of the Babylonians.[b](AP)
No more will you be called
tender or delicate.(AQ)
2 Take millstones(AR) and grind(AS) flour;
take off your veil.(AT)
Lift up your skirts,(AU) bare your legs,
and wade through the streams.
3 Your nakedness(AV) will be exposed
and your shame(AW) uncovered.
I will take vengeance;(AX)
I will spare no one.(AY)”
5 “Sit in silence,(BD) go into darkness,(BE)
queen city of the Babylonians;(BF)
no more will you be called
queen(BG) of kingdoms.(BH)
6 I was angry(BI) with my people
and desecrated my inheritance;(BJ)
I gave them into your hand,(BK)
and you showed them no mercy.(BL)
Even on the aged
you laid a very heavy yoke.
7 You said, ‘I am forever(BM)—
the eternal queen!’(BN)
But you did not consider these things
or reflect(BO) on what might happen.(BP)
8 “Now then, listen, you lover of pleasure,
lounging in your security(BQ)
and saying to yourself,
‘I am, and there is none besides me.(BR)
I will never be a widow(BS)
or suffer the loss of children.’
9 Both of these will overtake you
in a moment,(BT) on a single day:
loss of children(BU) and widowhood.(BV)
They will come upon you in full measure,
in spite of your many sorceries(BW)
and all your potent spells.(BX)
10 You have trusted(BY) in your wickedness
and have said, ‘No one sees me.’(BZ)
Your wisdom(CA) and knowledge mislead(CB) you
when you say to yourself,
‘I am, and there is none besides me.’
11 Disaster(CC) will come upon you,
and you will not know how to conjure it away.
A calamity will fall upon you
that you cannot ward off with a ransom;
a catastrophe you cannot foresee
will suddenly(CD) come upon you.
12 “Keep on, then, with your magic spells
and with your many sorceries,(CE)
which you have labored at since childhood.
Perhaps you will succeed,
perhaps you will cause terror.
13 All the counsel you have received has only worn you out!(CF)
Let your astrologers(CG) come forward,
those stargazers who make predictions month by month,
let them save(CH) you from what is coming upon you.
14 Surely they are like stubble;(CI)
the fire(CJ) will burn them up.
They cannot even save themselves
from the power of the flame.(CK)
These are not coals for warmth;
this is not a fire to sit by.
15 That is all they are to you—
these you have dealt with
and labored(CL) with since childhood.
All of them go on in their error;
there is not one that can save(CM) you.
Stubborn Israel
48 “Listen to this, you descendants of Jacob,
you who are called by the name of Israel(CN)
and come from the line of Judah,(CO)
you who take oaths(CP) in the name of the Lord(CQ)
and invoke(CR) the God of Israel—
but not in truth(CS) or righteousness—
2 you who call yourselves citizens of the holy city(CT)
and claim to rely(CU) on the God of Israel—
the Lord Almighty is his name:(CV)
3 I foretold the former things(CW) long ago,
my mouth announced(CX) them and I made them known;
then suddenly(CY) I acted, and they came to pass.
4 For I knew how stubborn(CZ) you were;
your neck muscles(DA) were iron,
your forehead(DB) was bronze.
5 Therefore I told you these things long ago;
before they happened I announced(DC) them to you
so that you could not say,
‘My images brought them about;(DD)
my wooden image and metal god ordained them.’
6 You have heard these things; look at them all.
Will you not admit them?
“From now on I will tell you of new things,(DE)
of hidden things unknown to you.
7 They are created(DF) now, and not long ago;(DG)
you have not heard of them before today.
So you cannot say,
‘Yes, I knew(DH) of them.’
8 You have neither heard nor understood;(DI)
from of old your ears(DJ) have not been open.
Well do I know how treacherous(DK) you are;
you were called a rebel(DL) from birth.
9 For my own name’s sake(DM) I delay my wrath;(DN)
for the sake of my praise I hold it back from you,
so as not to destroy you completely.(DO)
10 See, I have refined(DP) you, though not as silver;
I have tested(DQ) you in the furnace(DR) of affliction.
11 For my own sake,(DS) for my own sake, I do this.
How can I let myself be defamed?(DT)
I will not yield my glory to another.(DU)
Israel Freed
12 “Listen(DV) to me, Jacob,
Israel, whom I have called:(DW)
I am he;(DX)
I am the first and I am the last.(DY)
13 My own hand laid the foundations of the earth,(DZ)
and my right hand spread out the heavens;(EA)
when I summon them,
they all stand up together.(EB)
14 “Come together,(EC) all of you, and listen:
Which of the idols has foretold(ED) these things?
The Lord’s chosen ally(EE)
will carry out his purpose(EF) against Babylon;(EG)
his arm will be against the Babylonians.[c]
15 I, even I, have spoken;
yes, I have called(EH) him.
I will bring him,
and he will succeed(EI) in his mission.
16 “Come near(EJ) me and listen(EK) to this:
“From the first announcement I have not spoken in secret;(EL)
at the time it happens, I am there.”
17 This is what the Lord says—
your Redeemer,(EP) the Holy One(EQ) of Israel:
“I am the Lord your God,
who teaches(ER) you what is best for you,
who directs(ES) you in the way(ET) you should go.
18 If only you had paid attention(EU) to my commands,
your peace(EV) would have been like a river,(EW)
your well-being(EX) like the waves of the sea.
19 Your descendants(EY) would have been like the sand,(EZ)
your children like its numberless grains;(FA)
their name would never be blotted out(FB)
nor destroyed from before me.”
20 Leave Babylon,
flee(FC) from the Babylonians!
Announce this with shouts of joy(FD)
and proclaim it.
Send it out to the ends of the earth;(FE)
say, “The Lord has redeemed(FF) his servant Jacob.”
21 They did not thirst(FG) when he led them through the deserts;
he made water flow(FH) for them from the rock;
he split the rock
and water gushed out.(FI)
Footnotes
- Isaiah 46:1 Or are but beasts and cattle
- Isaiah 47:1 Or Chaldeans; also in verse 5
- Isaiah 48:14 Or Chaldeans; also in verse 20
Isaiah 46-48
King James Version
Isaiah 46-48
King James Version
46 Bel boweth down, Nebo stoopeth, their idols were upon the beasts, and upon the cattle: your carriages were heavy loaden; they are a burden to the weary beast.
2 They stoop, they bow down together; they could not deliver the burden, but themselves are gone into captivity.
3 Hearken unto me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, which are borne by me from the belly, which are carried from the womb:
4 And even to your old age I am he; and even to hoar hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you.
5 To whom will ye liken me, and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be like?
6 They lavish gold out of the bag, and weigh silver in the balance, and hire a goldsmith; and he maketh it a god: they fall down, yea, they worship.
7 They bear him upon the shoulder, they carry him, and set him in his place, and he standeth; from his place shall he not remove: yea, one shall cry unto him, yet can he not answer, nor save him out of his trouble.
8 Remember this, and shew yourselves men: bring it again to mind, O ye transgressors.
9 Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me,
10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:
11 Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it.
12 Hearken unto me, ye stouthearted, that are far from righteousness:
13 I bring near my righteousness; it shall not be far off, and my salvation shall not tarry: and I will place salvation in Zion for Israel my glory.
47 Come down, and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon, sit on the ground: there is no throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called tender and delicate.
2 Take the millstones, and grind meal: uncover thy locks, make bare the leg, uncover the thigh, pass over the rivers.
3 Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen: I will take vengeance, and I will not meet thee as a man.
4 As for our redeemer, the Lord of hosts is his name, the Holy One of Israel.
5 Sit thou silent, and get thee into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called, The lady of kingdoms.
6 I was wroth with my people, I have polluted mine inheritance, and given them into thine hand: thou didst shew them no mercy; upon the ancient hast thou very heavily laid thy yoke.
7 And thou saidst, I shall be a lady for ever: so that thou didst not lay these things to thy heart, neither didst remember the latter end of it.
8 Therefore hear now this, thou that art given to pleasures, that dwellest carelessly, that sayest in thine heart, I am, and none else beside me; I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know the loss of children:
9 But these two things shall come to thee in a moment in one day, the loss of children, and widowhood: they shall come upon thee in their perfection for the multitude of thy sorceries, and for the great abundance of thine enchantments.
10 For thou hast trusted in thy wickedness: thou hast said, None seeth me. Thy wisdom and thy knowledge, it hath perverted thee; and thou hast said in thine heart, I am, and none else beside me.
11 Therefore shall evil come upon thee; thou shalt not know from whence it riseth: and mischief shall fall upon thee; thou shalt not be able to put it off: and desolation shall come upon thee suddenly, which thou shalt not know.
12 Stand now with thine enchantments, and with the multitude of thy sorceries, wherein thou hast laboured from thy youth; if so be thou shalt be able to profit, if so be thou mayest prevail.
13 Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels. Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save thee from these things that shall come upon thee.
14 Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame: there shall not be a coal to warm at, nor fire to sit before it.
15 Thus shall they be unto thee with whom thou hast laboured, even thy merchants, from thy youth: they shall wander every one to his quarter; none shall save thee.
48 Hear ye this, O house of Jacob, which are called by the name of Israel, and are come forth out of the waters of Judah, which swear by the name of the Lord, and make mention of the God of Israel, but not in truth, nor in righteousness.
2 For they call themselves of the holy city, and stay themselves upon the God of Israel; The Lord of hosts is his name.
3 I have declared the former things from the beginning; and they went forth out of my mouth, and I shewed them; I did them suddenly, and they came to pass.
4 Because I knew that thou art obstinate, and thy neck is an iron sinew, and thy brow brass;
5 I have even from the beginning declared it to thee; before it came to pass I shewed it thee: lest thou shouldest say, Mine idol hath done them, and my graven image, and my molten image, hath commanded them.
6 Thou hast heard, see all this; and will not ye declare it? I have shewed thee new things from this time, even hidden things, and thou didst not know them.
7 They are created now, and not from the beginning; even before the day when thou heardest them not; lest thou shouldest say, Behold, I knew them.
8 Yea, thou heardest not; yea, thou knewest not; yea, from that time that thine ear was not opened: for I knew that thou wouldest deal very treacherously, and wast called a transgressor from the womb.
9 For my name's sake will I defer mine anger, and for my praise will I refrain for thee, that I cut thee not off.
10 Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.
11 For mine own sake, even for mine own sake, will I do it: for how should my name be polluted? and I will not give my glory unto another.
12 Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I also am the last.
13 Mine hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned the heavens: when I call unto them, they stand up together.
14 All ye, assemble yourselves, and hear; which among them hath declared these things? The Lord hath loved him: he will do his pleasure on Babylon, and his arm shall be on the Chaldeans.
15 I, even I, have spoken; yea, I have called him: I have brought him, and he shall make his way prosperous.
16 Come ye near unto me, hear ye this; I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was, there am I: and now the Lord God, and his Spirit, hath sent me.
17 Thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the Lord thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go.
18 O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea:
19 Thy seed also had been as the sand, and the offspring of thy bowels like the gravel thereof; his name should not have been cut off nor destroyed from before me.
20 Go ye forth of Babylon, flee ye from the Chaldeans, with a voice of singing declare ye, tell this, utter it even to the end of the earth; say ye, The Lord hath redeemed his servant Jacob.
21 And they thirsted not when he led them through the deserts: he caused the waters to flow out of the rock for them: he clave the rock also, and the waters gushed out.
22 There is no peace, saith the Lord, unto the wicked.
Proverbs 28:1-14
New International Version
Proverbs 28:1-14
New International Version
2 When a country is rebellious, it has many rulers,
but a ruler with discernment and knowledge maintains order.
3 A ruler[a] who oppresses the poor
is like a driving rain that leaves no crops.
4 Those who forsake instruction praise the wicked,
but those who heed it resist them.
5 Evildoers do not understand what is right,
but those who seek the Lord understand it fully.
6 Better the poor whose walk is blameless
than the rich whose ways are perverse.(D)
7 A discerning son heeds instruction,
but a companion of gluttons disgraces his father.(E)
8 Whoever increases wealth by taking interest(F) or profit from the poor
amasses it for another,(G) who will be kind to the poor.(H)
9 If anyone turns a deaf ear to my instruction,
even their prayers are detestable.(I)
10 Whoever leads the upright along an evil path
will fall into their own trap,(J)
but the blameless will receive a good inheritance.
11 The rich are wise in their own eyes;
one who is poor and discerning sees how deluded they are.
12 When the righteous triumph, there is great elation;(K)
but when the wicked rise to power, people go into hiding.(L)
13 Whoever conceals their sins(M) does not prosper,
but the one who confesses(N) and renounces them finds mercy.(O)
14 Blessed is the one who always trembles before God,
but whoever hardens their heart falls into trouble.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 28:3 Or A poor person
Proverbs 28:1-14
King James Version
Proverbs 28:1-14
King James Version
28 The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.
2 For the transgression of a land many are the princes thereof: but by a man of understanding and knowledge the state thereof shall be prolonged.
3 A poor man that oppresseth the poor is like a sweeping rain which leaveth no food.
4 They that forsake the law praise the wicked: but such as keep the law contend with them.
5 Evil men understand not judgment: but they that seek the Lord understand all things.
6 Better is the poor that walketh in his uprightness, than he that is perverse in his ways, though he be rich.
7 Whoso keepeth the law is a wise son: but he that is a companion of riotous men shameth his father.
8 He that by usury and unjust gain increaseth his substance, he shall gather it for him that will pity the poor.
9 He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination.
10 Whoso causeth the righteous to go astray in an evil way, he shall fall himself into his own pit: but the upright shall have good things in possession.
11 The rich man is wise in his own conceit; but the poor that hath understanding searcheth him out.
12 When righteous men do rejoice, there is great glory: but when the wicked rise, a man is hidden.
13 He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.
14 Happy is the man that feareth alway: but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief.
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