Amplified Bible (AMP)

War against Jerusalem

1 Now it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin king ofAram (Syria) and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to wage war against it, but they could not conquer it.

2 When the house of David (Judah) was told, “Aram is allied with Ephraim (Israel),” the hearts of Ahaz and his people trembled as the trees of the forest tremble in the wind.

3 Then the Lordsaid to Isaiah, “Go out to meet Ahaz [king of Judah], you and your sonShear-jashub, at the end of the aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the highway to theFuller’s Field;

4 and say to him, ‘Take care and be calm, do not fear and be weak-hearted because of these two stumps of smoldering logs, on account of the fierce anger of [King] Rezin and Aram and of the son of Remaliah (Pekah, usurper of the throne of Israel).

5 ~‘Because Aram,along withEphraim (Israel) and the son of Remaliah, have planned evil against you (Judah), saying,

6 “Let us go up against Judah and terrorize it; and let us breach its wallandtear it apart [each of us taking a portion] and set up the son of Tabeel over it as its [puppet] king,”

7 for this is what the Lord Godsays, “It shall not stand nor shall it happen.

8 For the head (capital) of Aram is Damascus and the head of Damascus is [King] Rezin (now within sixty-five years Ephraim will be broken to pieces and will no longer be a people).

9 And the head (capital) of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah’s son [King Pekah]. If you will notbelieve [and trust in God and His message], be assured that you will not be established.”’”

The Child Immanuel

10 Then the Lordspoke again to [King] Ahaz, saying,

11 “Ask a sign for yourself from the Lordyour God [one that will convince you that God has spoken and will keep His word]; make your request as deep as Sheol or as high as heaven.”

12 But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, nor will I test the Lord!”

13 Then Isaiah said, “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too small a thing for you to try the patience of men, but will you try the patience of my God as well?

14 Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Listen carefully, thevirgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and she will call his name Immanuel (God with us).

15 He will eat curds and honey when he knowsenoughto refuse evil and choose good.

16 For before the child will knowenoughto refuse evil and choose good, the land (Canaan) whose two kings you dread will be deserted [both Ephraim and Aram].

Trials to Come for Judah

17 The Lordwill bring on you, on your people, and on your father’s house such days as have not come since the day that Ephraim (the ten northern tribes) separated from Judah–[He will call for] the king of Assyria.”

18 In that day the Lordwill whistle for the fly that is in themouth of the riversandcanals of Egypt and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria.

19 These [armies, like flies and bees] will all come and settle on the steepandrugged ravines and in the clefts of the rocks, and on all the thorn bushes and in all the watering places.

20 In that day [when foreign armies swarm the land] the Lord will shave with a razor, hired from the regions beyond the Euphrates (that is,with the king of Assyria), [that razor will shave] the head and the hair of the legs; and it will also remove the beard [leaving Judah stripped, shamed and scorned].

21 Now in that day [because of the poverty caused by the invaders] a man will keep alive only a young milk cow and two sheep;

22 and because of the abundance of milk produced he will eat curds, for everyone that is left in the land will eat [only] curds and [wild] honey.

23 And it will come to pass in that day, in every place where there used to be a thousand vines,wortha thousand silvershekels,there will be briars and thorns.

24 People will come there [to hunt] with arrows and with bows because all the land will be briars and thorns.

25 As for all the hills which used to be cultivated with the pickandthe hoe, you will no longer go there for fear of briars and thorns; but they will become a place where oxen are pastured and where sheep tread.

Damascus and Samaria Fall

1 Then the Lordsaid to me, “Take for yourself a large tablet [for public display] and write on it in ordinary characters:BelongingtoMaher-shalal-hash-baz.

2 And I will get faithful witnesses to attest [to this prophecy] for me, Uriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.”

3 So I approached [my wife] the prophetess, and she conceived and gave birth to a son. Then the Lordsaid to me, “Name him Maher-shalal-hash-baz [to remind the people of the prophecy];

4 for before the boy knows how to say, ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the riches of Damascus (Aram’s capital) and the spoil of Samaria (Israel’s capital)will be carried away by the king of Assyria.”

5 Again the Lordspoke to me, saying,

6 “Because these people (Judah) have refused the gently flowing waters ofShiloah

And rejoice in Rezin [the king of Aram] and Remaliah’s son [Pekah the king of Israel],

7 Now therefore, listen carefully, the Lord is about to bring on them the waters of the [Euphrates] River, strong and abundant–

The king of Assyria and all his glory;

And it will rise over all its channelsandcanals and go far beyond its banks.

8 “Then it willsweep on into Judah; it will overflow and pass through [the hills],

Reaching even to the neck [of which Jerusalem is the head],

And its outstretched wings (the armies of Assyria) will fill the width of Your land, O Immanuel.

A Believing Remnant

9 “Be broken [in pieces], O peoples, and be shattered!

Listen, all you [our enemies from the] far countries.

Prepare yourselves [for war], and be shattered;

Prepare yourselves [for war], and be shattered.

10 “Take counsel together [against Judah], but it will come to nothing;

Speak the word, but it will not stand,

For God is with us (Immanuel).”

11 For in this way the Lordspoke to me with His strong hand [upon me] and instructed me not to walk in the way of this people [behaving as they do], saying,

12 “You are not to say, ‘It is a conspiracy!’

In regard to all that this people call a conspiracy,

And you are not to fear what they fear nor be in dread of it.

13 “It is the Lordof hosts whom you are to regard as holyandawesome.

He shall be your [source of] fear,

He shall be your [source of] dread [not man].

14 “Then He shall be a sanctuary [a sacred, indestructible shelter for those who fear and trust Him];

But to both the houses of Israel [both the northern and southern kingdoms–Israel and Judah, He will be] a stone on which to stumble and a rock on which to trip,

A trap and a snare for the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

15 “Many [among them] will stumble over them;

Then they will fall and be broken,

They will even be snared and trapped.”

16 Bind up the testimony, seal the lawandthe teaching among my (Isaiah’s) disciples.

17 And I will wait for the Lordwho is hiding His face from the house of Jacob; and I will look eagerly for Him.

18 Listen carefully, I and the children whom the Lordhas given me arefor signs and wonders [that will occur] in Israel from the Lordof hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion.

19 When the people [instead of trusting God] say to you, “Consult the mediums [who try to talk to the dead] and the soothsayers who chirpandwhisper and mutter,” should not a people consult their God?Should they consultthe dead on behalf of the living?

20 [Direct those people] to the law and to the testimony! If their teachings are not in accord with this word, it is because they have no dawn.

21 They [who consult mediums and soothsayers] will pass through the land deeply distressed and hungry, and when they are hungry, they will become enraged and will curse their king and their God as they look upward.

22 Then they will look to the earth, they will see only distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish; andthey will bedriven away into darknessandoverwhelming night.

Birth and Reign of the Prince of Peace

1 But there will be nomoregloom for her who was in anguish [for with judgment comes the promise of salvation]. In earlier times He treated the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali with contempt, but later on He will make them honored [by the presence of the Messiah], by the way of the sea, on the other side of Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles.

2 The people who walk in [spiritual] darkness

Will see a great Light;

Those who live in the dark land,

The Light will shine on them.

3 You [O God] will increase the nation,

You will multiply their joy;

They will rejoice before You

Like the joyandjubilation of the harvest,

As men rejoice when they divide the spoil [of victory].

4 For You will break the yoke of Israel’s burden and the staff (goad) on their shoulders,

The rod of their oppressor, as at thebattle of Midian.

5 For every boot of the marching warrior in thebattletumult,

And [every soldier’s] garment rolled in blood, will beusedfor burning, fuel for the fire.

6 For to us a Child shall be born, to us a Son shall be given;

And the government shall be upon His shoulder,

And His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

7 There shall be no end to the increase of His government and of peace,

[He shall rule] on the throne of David and over his kingdom,

To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness

From that time forward and forevermore.

The zeal of the Lordof hosts will accomplish this.

God’s Anger with Israel’s Arrogance

8 The Lord sends a word (message) against Jacob,

And it falls on Israel [the ten northern tribes, the kingdom of Ephraim].

9 And all the people know it,

That is,Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria [its capital],

Who say in pride and arrogance of heart:

10 “The bricks have fallen down,

But we will rebuild [all the better] with ashlar (hewed stones);

The sycamores have been cut down,

But we will replace them with [expensive] cedars.”

11 Therefore the Lordraises against Ephraim adversaries from Rezin [king of Aram]

And spurs their enemies on,

12 The Arameans on the east and the Philistines on the west;

And they devour Israel with gaping jaws.

Inspite ofall this, God’s anger does not turn away

But His hand is still stretched out [in judgment].

13 Yet the people do not turn back [in repentance] to Him who struck them,

Nor do they seek the Lordof hosts [as their most essential need].

14 Therefore the Lordcuts off head and tail [the highest and the lowest] from Israel,

Both[the high] palm branch and [the low] bulrush in one day.

15 The elderly and honorable man, he is the head;

And the prophet who teaches lies, he is the tail.

16 For those who lead this people are causingthemto go astray;

And those who are led [astray] by them are swallowed up.

17 Therefore the Lord does not rejoice over their young men,

Nor does He have compassion on their fatherless or their widows;

For every one of them is godless and an evildoer,

And every mouth is speaking foolishness.

Inspite ofall this, God’s anger does not turn away

But His hand is still stretched out [in judgment].

18 For wickedness burns like a fire;

It consumes briars and thorns,

It even sets the forest thickets ablaze;

And it swirls upward in a column of smoke.

19 By the wrath of the Lordof hosts the land is burned up,

And the people are like fuel for the fire;

No man spares his brother.

20 They slice off [in discord]what ison the right hand but arestillhungry,

And they eatwhat ison the left hand but they are not satisfied;

Each eats the flesh of his own arm.

21 [The tribe of] Manassehdevours[the tribe of his brother] Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh,

And together they are against Judah (the southern kingdom, the house of David).

Inspite ofall this, God’s anger does not turn away

But His hand is still stretched out [in judgment].

Assyria Is God’s Instrument

1 Woe (judgment is coming) to those [judges] who issue evil statutes,

And to those [magistrates] who constantly record unjustandoppressive decisions,

2 So as to deprive the needy of justice

And rob the poor of My people of rightful claims,

So that widows may be their spoil

And that they may plunder the fatherless.

3 Now what will you do in the day of [God’s] punishment,

And in the storm of devastation which will come from far away?

To whom will you flee for help?

And where will you leave your wealth [for safekeeping]?

4 Nothingremainsbut to crouch among the captives

Or fall [dead] among the slain [on the battlefield].

Inspite ofall this, God’s anger does not turn away,

But His hand is still stretched out [in judgment].

5 Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger [against Israel],

The staff in whose hand is My indignationandfury [against Israel’s disobedience]!

6 I send Assyria against a godless nation

And commission it against the people of My wrath

To take the spoil and to seize the plunder,

And to trample them down like mud in the streets.

7 Yet it is not Assyria’s intention [to do My will],

Nor does it plan so in its heart,

But instead it is its purpose to destroy

And to cut off many nations.

8 For Assyria says, “Are not my princes all kings?

9 “Is not Calno [conquered] like Carchemish [on the Euphrates]?

Is not Hamath [subdued] like Arpad [her neighbor]?

Is not Samaria [in Israel] like Damascus [in Aram]?

10 “As my hand has reached to the kingdoms of the idols,

Whose carved images were greaterandmore feared than those of Jerusalem and Samaria,

11 Shall I not do to Jerusalem and her images

Just as I have done to Samaria and her idols?” [declares Assyria].

12 So when the Lord has completed all His work [of judgment] on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem,He will say,“I will punish the fruit [the thoughts, the declarations, and the actions] of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria and the haughtiness of his pride.”

13 For the Assyrian king has said,

“I have done this by the power of my [own] hand and by my wisdom,

For I have understandingandskill.

I have removed the boundaries of the peoples

And have plundered their treasures;

Like a bull I have brought down those who sat on thrones.

14 “My hand has found the wealth of the people like a nest,

And as one gathers eggs that are abandoned, so I have gathered all the earth;

And there was not one that flapped its wing, or that opened its beak and chirped.”

15 Is the axe able to lift itself over the one who chops with it?

Is the saw able to magnify itself over the one who wields it?

That would belike a club moving those who lift it,

Or like a staff raisinghim whois not [made of] wood [like itself]!

16 Therefore the Lord, the Godof hosts, will send a wasting disease among the stout warriors of Assyria;

And under his glory a fire will be kindled like a burning flame.

17 And the Light of Israel will become a fire and His Holy One a flame,

And it willburn and devour Assyria’s thorns and briars in a single day.

18 The Lord will consume the glory of Assyria’s forest and of its fruitful garden, both soul and body,

And it will be as when a sick man wastes away.

19 And the remaining trees of Assyria’s forest will be so few in number

That a child could write them down.

A Remnant Will Return

20 Now in that day the remnant of Israel, and those of the house of Jacob who have escaped, will never again rely on the one who struck them, but will truly rely on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel.

21 Aremnant will return, a remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God.

22 For though your people, O Israel, may be as the sand of the sea,

Onlya remnant within them will return;

The destruction is determined [it is decided and destined for completion], overflowing with justice (righteous punishment).

23 For the Lord, the Godof hosts, will execute a complete destruction, one that is decreed, in the midst of all the land.

24 Therefore, the Lord Godof hosts says this, “O My people who dwell in Zion, do not be afraid of the Assyrian who strikes you with a rod and lifts up his staff against you, as [the king of] Egypt did.

25 For yet a very little while and My indignation [against you] will be fulfilled and My angerwill be directedtoward the destruction of the Assyrian.”

26 The Lordof hosts will brandish a whip against them like the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb; and His staff will be over the [Red] Sea and He will lift it up the wayHe didin [the flight from] Egypt.

27 So it will be in that day, that the burden of the Assyrian will be removed from your shoulders and his yoke from your neck. The yoke will be broken because of the fat.

28 The Assyrian has come against Aiath [in Judah],

He has passed through Migron [with his army];

At Michmash he stored his equipment.

29 They have gone through the pass,saying,

“Geba will be our lodging place for the night.”

Ramah trembles, and Gibeah [the city] of Saul has fled.

30 Cry aloud with your voice [in consternation], O Daughter of Gallim!

Pay attention, Laishah! Answer her, Anathoth!

31 Madmenah has fled;

The inhabitants of Gebim have fled [with their belongings] to safety.

32 Yet today the Assyrian will halt at Nob [the city of priests];

He shakes his fist at the mountain of the Daughter of Zion, at the hill of Jerusalem.

33 Listen carefully, the Lord, the Godof hosts, will lop off the [beautiful] boughs with terrifying force;

The tall in stature will be cut down

And the lofty will be abasedandhumiliated.

34 He will cut down the thickets of the forest with an ironaxe,

And Lebanon (the Assyrian) will fall by the Mighty One.

Righteous Reign of the Branch

1 Then a Shoot (the Messiah) will spring from the stock of Jesse [David’s father],

And a Branch from his roots will bear fruit.

2 And the Spirit of the Lordwill rest on Him–

The Spirit of wisdom and understanding,

The Spirit of counsel and strength,

The Spirit of knowledge and of the [reverential and obedient] fear of the Lord–

3 And He will delight in the fear of the Lord,

And He will not judge by what His eyes see,

Nor make decisions by what His ears hear;

4 But with righteousnessandjustice He will judge the poor,

And decide with fairness for the downtrodden of the earth;

And He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth,

And with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked.

5 And righteousness will be the belt around His loins,

And faithfulness the belt around His waist.

6 And the wolf will dwell with the lamb,

And the leopard will lie down with the young goat,

And the calf and the young lion and the fatted steer together;

And a little child will lead them.

7 And the cow and the bear will graze [together],

Their young will lie down together,

And the lion shall eat straw like the ox.

8 And the nursing child will [safely] play over the hole of the cobra,

And the weaned child will put his hand on the viper’s den [and not be hurt].

9 They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain,

For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord

As the waters cover the sea.

10 Then in that day

The nations will make supplications to the Root of Jesse

Who will stand as a signal for the peoples;

And His resting place will be glorious.

The Restored Remnant

11 Then it will happen on that day that the Lord

Will again acquire with His hand a second time

The remnant of His people, who will remain,

From Assyria, from [Lower] Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush (Ethiopia), from Elam [in Persia], from Shinar [Babylonia], from Hamath [in Aram],

And from the coastlandsborderingthe [Mediterranean] Sea.

12 And He will lift up a signal for the nations

And assemble theoutcasts of Israel,

And will gather the dispersed of Judah

From the four corners of the earth.

13 Then the jealousy ofEphraim will depart,

And those who harassJudah will be cut off;

Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah,

And Judah will not harass Ephraim.

14 Ephraim and Judah will [unite and] swoop down on the slopes of the Philistines toward the west;

Together they will plunder the sons (Arabs) of the east.

They will possess Edom and Moab,

And the sons of Ammon will be subject to them.

15 And the Lordwill utterly destroy

The tongue of theSea of Egypt;

And with His scorching wind

He will wave His hand over the River;

He will strikeanddivide it into seven channels

And make [it possible for] people [to] walk over in sandals.

16 And there will be a highway from Assyria

For the remnant of His people who will be left,

Just as there was for Israel

In the day when they came up out of the land of Egypt.

Thanksgiving Expressed

1 And on that day you will say,

“I will give thanks to You, O Lord;

For though You were angry with me,

Your anger has turned away,

And You comfort me.

2 “Behold, God, my salvation!

I will trust and not be afraid,

For the LordGodis my strength and song;

Yes, He has become my salvation.”

3 Therefore with joy you will draw water

From the springs of salvation.

4 And in that day you will say,

“Give thanks to the Lord, call on His name [in prayer].

Make His deeds known among the peoples [of the earth];

Proclaim [to them] that His name is exalted!”

5 Sing praises to the Lord, for He has done excellentandglorious things;

Let this be known throughout the earth.

6 Rejoice and shout for joy, O inhabitant of Zion,

For great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.

Prophecies about Babylon

1 The [mournful, inspired] oracle (a burden to be carried) concerning Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw [in a prophetic vision]:

2 Lift up a signal banner on the bare mountain,

Summon them [the Medes and Persians] with a loud voice,

Wave the [beckoning] hand so that they may enter the doorways of the [Babylonian] nobles.

3 I [the Lord] have commanded My consecrated ones,

I have even called My great warriors,

My proudly exulting ones [the Medes and the Persians who triumph for My honor]–

ToexecuteMy anger.

4 A sound of tumult on the mountains,

Like that of many people!

A sound of the uproar of the kingdoms,

Of nations gathered together!

The Lordof hosts is mustering an army for battle.

5 They are coming from a distant country,

From the end of heaven [the farthest horizon]–

The Lordand the weapons of His indignation–

To destroy the whole land.

Judgment on the Day of the Lord

6 Wail, for the day of the Lordis at hand!

It will come asdestruction from theAlmighty (All Sufficient One–Invincible God)!

7 Thereforeall hands will fall limp,

And every man’s heart will melt.

8 They [of Babylon] will be shockedandterrified,

Pains and anguish will grip them;

They will be in pain like a woman in childbirth.

They will stare aghastandhorrified at one another,

Their faces aflame [from the effects of the unprecedented warfare].

9 Listen carefully, the day of the Lordis coming,

Cruel, with wrath and raging anger,

To make the land a horror [of devastation];

And He shall exterminate its sinners from it.

10 For the stars of heaven and their constellations

Will not flash with their light;

The sun will be dark when it rises,

And the moon will not shed its light.

11 In this way I will punish the world for its evil

And the wicked for their wickedness [their sin, their injustice, their wrongdoing];

I will also put an end to the arrogance of the proud

And will abase the arrogance of the tyrant.

12 I will make mortal man more rare than fine gold,

And mankind [scarcer] than the pure gold of Ophir.

13 Therefore I will make the heavens tremble;

And the earth will be shaken from its place

At the wrath of the Lordof hosts

In the day of His burning anger.

14 And like the hunted gazelle,

Or like sheep that no man gathers,

Each [foreign resident] will turn [and go back] to his own people,

And each one flee to his own land.

15 Anyone who is found will be pierced through,

And anyone who is captured will fall by the sword.

16 Their children also will be smashed to pieces

Before their eyes;

Their houses will be looted

And their wives ravished.

Babylon Will Fall to the Medes

17 Listen carefully, I will put the Medes [in motion] against them,

Who have no regard for silver and do not delight in gold [and therefore cannot be bribed].

18 Their bows will cut down the young men [of Babylon];

They will take no pity on the fruit of the womb,

Their eyes will not look with compassion on the children.

19 And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of theChaldeans’ pride,

Will be like Sodom and Gomorrah when God overthrew them.

20 Babylon will never be inhabited or lived in from generation to generation;

Nor will the Arab pitch his tent there,

Nor will the shepherds lettheir sheeplie down there.

21 But desert creatures will lie down there,

And their houses will be full of owls;

Ostriches also will live there, andwild goats will dance there.

22 Hyenas will howl in their castles,

And jackals in their luxurious palaces.

Babylon’s time has nearly come,

And her days will not be prolonged.

Israel’s Taunt

1 For the Lordwill have compassion on Jacob (the captives in Babylon) and will again choose Israel, and will settle them in their own land. Foreigners (Gentiles) will join them [as proselytes] and will attach themselves to the house of Jacob (Israel).

2 The peoples will take them along and bring them to their own place (Judea), and the house of Israel will possess them as an inheritance in the land of the Lordas male and female servants; and they will take captive those whose captives they have been, and they will rule over their [former] oppressors.

3 And it will be in the day when the Lordgives you rest from your pain and turmoil and from the harsh service in which you have been enslaved,

4 that you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon, and say,

“How the oppressor has ceased [his insolence],

And howthe fury has ceased!

5 “The Lordhas broken the staff of the wicked,

The scepter of the [tyrant] rulers

6 Which used to strike the peoples in anger with incessant blows,

Which subduedandruled the nations in wrath with unrelenting persecution.

7 “The whole earth is at rest and is quiet;

They break into shouts of joy.

8 “Even the cypress trees rejoice over you [kings of Babylon], even the cedars of Lebanon,saying,

‘Since you were laid low, no woodcutter comes up against us.’

9 “Sheol below is excited about you to meet you when you come [you tyrant of Babylon];

It stirs up the spirits of the dead [to greet you], all the leaders of the earth;

It raises all the kings of the nations from their thrones [in astonishment at your fall].

10 “All of them will respond [tauntingly] and say to you,

‘You have become as weak as we are.

You have become like us.

11 ‘Your pomp and magnificence have been brought down to Sheol,

Along with the music of your harps;

The maggots [which prey on the dead] are spread out under you [as a bed]

And worms are your covering [Babylonian rulers].’

12 “How you have fallen from heaven,

Ostar of the morning [light-bringer], son of the dawn!

You have been cut down to the ground,

You who have weakened the nations [king of Babylon]!

13 “But you said in your heart,

‘I will ascend to heaven;

I will raise my throne above the stars of God;

I will sit on the mount of assembly

In the remote parts of the north.

14 ‘I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;

I will make myself like the Most High.’

15 “But [in fact] you will be brought down to Sheol,

To the remote recesses of the pit (the region of the dead).

16 “Those who see you will gaze at you,

They will consider you,saying,

‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble,

Who shook kingdoms,

17 Who made the world like a wilderness

And overthrew its cities,

Who did not permit his prisoners to return home?’

18 “All the kings of the nations, all of them lie [dead] in glorious array,

Each one in his own sepulcher.

19 “But you [king of Babylon] have been cast out of your tomb (denied burial)

Like a rejected branch,

Clothed with the slain who are pierced by the sword,

Who go down to the stones of the pit [into which carcasses are thrown],

Like a dead body trampled [underfoot].

20 “You will not be united with them in burial,

Because you have destroyed your land,

You have slain your people.

May the descendants of evildoers never be named!

21 “Prepare a slaughtering place for his sons

Because of the wickedness [the sin, the injustice, the wrongdoing] of their fathers.

They must not rise and take possession of the earth,

And fill the face of the world with cities.”

22 “I will rise up against them,” says the Lordof hosts, “and will cut off from Babylon name and survivors, and son and grandson,” declares the Lord.

23 “I will also make Babylon a possession of the hedgehog and ofswamps of water, and I will sweep it away with the broom of destruction,” declares the Lordof hosts.

Judgment on Assyria

24 The Lordof hosts has sworn [an oath], saying, “Just as I have intended, so it has certainly happened, and just as I have planned, so it will stand–

25 to break the Assyrian in My land, and on My mountains I will trample him underfoot. Then the Assyrian’syoke will be removed from them (the people of Judah) and his burden removed from their shoulder.

26 This is the plan [of God] decided for the whole earth [regarded as conquered and put under tribute by Assyria]; and this is the hand [of God] that is stretched out over all the nations.

27 For the Lordof hosts has decidedandplanned, and who can annul it? His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?”

Judgment on Philistia

28 In the year that King Ahaz [of Judah] died this [mournful, inspired] oracle (a burden to be carried) came:

29 “Do not rejoice, O Philistia, any of you,

Because the rod [of Judah] that struck you is broken;

For out of the serpent’s root will come a viper [King Hezekiah of Judah],

And its offspring will be a flying serpent.

30 “The firstborn of the helpless [of Judah] will feed [on My meadows],

And the needy will lie down in safety;

But I will kill your root with famine,

And your survivors will be put to death.

31 “Howl, O gate; cry, O city!

Melt away, O Philistia, all of you;

For smoke comes out of the north,

And there is no straggler in his ranksandno one stands detached [in Hezekiah’s battalions].

32 “Then what answer will one give the messengers of the [Philistine] nation?

That the Lordhas founded Zion,

And the afflicted of His people will seekandfind refuge in it.”

Judgment on Moab

1 The [mournful, inspired] oracle (a burden to be carried) concerning Moab:

Because in a night Ar of Moab is devastated and ruined;

Because in a night Kir of Moab is devastated and ruined.

2 They have gone up to the temple and to Dibon, to the high places to weep.

Moab wails over Nebo and over Medeba;

Everyone’s head is shaved, and every beard is cut off [in mourning].

3 In their streets they have wrapped themselves with sackcloth;

On their [flat] housetops and in their open squares

Everyone is wailing, dissolved in tears.

4 Heshbon and Elealeh [cities claimed by Moab] cry out;

Their voice is heard as far as Jahaz.

Therefore the armed men of Moab cry out;

Moab’s soul trembles within him.

5 My heart cries out for Moab;

His fugitives are [fleeing] as far as Zoar and Eglath-shelishiyah.

For they go up the ascent of Luhith weeping;

For on the road to Horonaim they raise a cry of distress over their destruction.

6 For the waters of Nimrim are desolate.

Indeed the grass is withered, the new growth dies;

There is no green thing.

7 Therefore the abundancewhichthey have acquired and stored away

They carry off over the Brook of the Willows.

8 For the cry of distress has echoed around the territory of Moab;

The wailinggoesas far as Eglaim and the mournful cry to Beer-elim.

9 For the waters of Dimon are full of blood;

Yet I will bring even morewoeson Dimon–

A lion upon those of Moab who escape and upon the remnant of the land.

Prophecy of Moab’s Devastation

1 Send lambs to the ruler of the land [you Moabites],

From Sela [that is, Petra in Edom] through the wilderness to the mountain of the Daughter of Zion (Jerusalem).

2 For like wandering birds or scattered nestlings,

The daughters of Moab will be at the fords of the [river] Arnon.

3 [Say to the ruler] “Give us advice, make a decision [for Moab, king of Judah];

Cast your shadow [over us] like night in the midst of noon;

Hide the outcasts, do not betray the fugitive [to his pursuer].

4 “Let our outcasts of Moab live among you;

Be a [sheltered] hiding place to them from the destroyer.”

For the extortioner has come to an end, destruction has ceased,

Oppressors [who trample men] have completelydisappearedfrom the land,

5 A throne will be established in lovingkindness,

And One will sit on it in faithfulness in the tent (dynasty, family) of David;

Judgingandseeking justice

And being prompt to do righteousness.

6 We have heard of the pride of Moab, an excessive pride–

Even of his arrogance, his conceit, his rage,

His untruthful boasting.

7 Therefore Moab will wail for Moab; everyone will wail.

You will mourn for the raisin cakes of Kir-hareseth,

As those who are utterly strickenanddiscouraged.

8 For the fields of Heshbon have languishedandwithered, and the vines of Sibmahas well;

The lords of the nations have trampled down [Moab’s] choice vine branches,

Which reached as far as Jazer and wandered into the wilderness;

Its tendrils stretched out, they passed over [the shores of] the [Dead] Sea.

9 Therefore I (Isaiah) will weep bitterly for Jazer, for the vines of Sibmah.

I will drench you with my tears, O Heshbon and Elealeh;

For the war-cry [of the enemy] has fallen on your summer fruits and your harvest.

10 Gladness and joy are taken away from the fruitful field;

In the vineyards there will be no singing or joyful sound;

No treader treads out wine in the presses,

For I (God) put an end to the joyful shouting.

11 Therefore my heart sounds like a harp [in mournful compassion] for Moab,

And my inner beingmournsfor Kir-hareseth.

12 So it will come to pass when Moab presents himself,

When he wearies himself [worshiping] on his high place [of idolatry]

And comes to his sanctuary [of Chemosh, god of Moab] to pray,

That he will not prevail.

13 This is the word which the Lordspoke earlier concerning Moab [when Moab’s pride and resistance to God were first known].

14 But now the Lordspeaks, saying, “Withinthree years, as the years of a hired man [who will not serve longer than the agreed time], the glory of Moab will be degraded along with allthe great population, and the remnant [that survives] will be very small and of no account.”