31:1 Those who go down to Egypt for help are as good as dead, 1
those who rely on war horses,
and trust in Egypt’s many chariots 2
and in their many, many horsemen. 3
But they do not rely on the Holy One of Israel 4
and do not seek help from the Lord.
31:2 Yet he too is wise 5 and he will bring disaster;
he does not retract his decree. 6
He will attack the wicked nation, 7
and the nation that helps 8 those who commit sin. 9
31:3 The Egyptians are mere humans, not God;
their horses are made of flesh, not spirit.
The Lord will strike with 10 his hand;
the one who helps will stumble
and the one being helped will fall.
Together they will perish. 11
31:4 Indeed, this is what the Lord says to me:
“The Lord will be like a growling lion,
like a young lion growling over its prey. 12
Though a whole group of shepherds gathers against it,
it is not afraid of their shouts
or intimidated by their yelling. 13
In this same way the Lord who commands armies will descend
to do battle on Mount Zion and on its hill. 14
31:5 Just as birds hover over a nest, 15
so the Lord who commands armies will protect Jerusalem. 16
He will protect and deliver it;
as he passes over 17 he will rescue it.
31:6 You Israelites! Return to the one against whom you have so blatantly rebelled! 18 31:7 For at that time 19 everyone will get rid of 20 the silver and gold idols your hands sinfully made. 21
31:8 Assyria will fall by a sword, but not one human-made; 22
a sword not made by humankind will destroy them. 23
They will run away from this sword 24
and their young men will be forced to do hard labor.
31:9 They will surrender their stronghold 25 because of fear; 26
their officers will be afraid of the Lord’s battle flag.” 27
This is what the Lord says –
the one whose fire is in Zion,
whose firepot is in Jerusalem. 28
32:1 Look, a king will promote fairness; 29
officials will promote justice. 30
32:2 Each of them 31 will be like a shelter from the wind
and a refuge from a rainstorm;
like streams of water in a dry region
and like the shade of a large cliff in a parched land.
32:3 Eyes 32 will no longer be blind 33
and ears 34 will be attentive.
32:4 The mind that acts rashly will possess discernment 35
and the tongue that stutters will speak with ease and clarity.
32:5 A fool will no longer be called honorable;
a deceiver will no longer be called principled.
32:6 For a fool speaks disgraceful things; 36
his mind plans out sinful deeds. 37
He commits godless deeds 38
and says misleading things about the Lord;
he gives the hungry nothing to satisfy their appetite 39
and gives the thirsty nothing to drink. 40
32:7 A deceiver’s methods are evil; 41
he dreams up evil plans 42
to ruin the poor with lies,
even when the needy are in the right. 43
32:8 An honorable man makes honorable plans;
his honorable character gives him security. 44
32:9 You complacent 45 women,
get up and listen to me!
You carefree 46 daughters,
pay attention to what I say!
32:10 In a year’s time 47
you carefree ones will shake with fear,
for the grape 48 harvest will fail,
and the fruit harvest will not arrive.
32:11 Tremble, you complacent ones!
Shake with fear, you carefree ones!
Strip off your clothes and expose yourselves –
put sackcloth on your waist! 49
32:12 Mourn over the field, 50
over the delightful fields
and the fruitful vine!
32:13 Mourn 51 over the land of my people,
which is overgrown with thorns and briers,
and over all the once-happy houses 52
in the city filled with revelry. 53
32:14 For the fortress is neglected;
the once-crowded 54 city is abandoned.
Hill 55 and watchtower
are permanently uninhabited. 56
Wild donkeys love to go there,
and flocks graze there. 57
32:15 This desolation will continue until new life is poured out on us from heaven. 58
Then the desert will become an orchard
and the orchard will be considered a forest. 59
32:16 Justice will settle down in the desert
and fairness will live in the orchard. 60
32:17 Fairness will produce peace 61
and result in lasting security. 62
32:18 My people will live in peaceful settlements,
in secure homes,
and in safe, quiet places. 63
32:19 Even if the forest is destroyed 64
and the city is annihilated, 65
32:20 you will be blessed,
you who plant seed by all the banks of the streams, 66
you who let your ox and donkey graze. 67
33:1 The destroyer is as good as dead, 68
you who have not been destroyed!
The deceitful one is as good as dead, 69
the one whom others have not deceived!
When you are through destroying, you will be destroyed;
when you finish 70 deceiving, others will deceive you!
33:2 Lord, be merciful to us! We wait for you.
Give us strength each morning! 71
Deliver us when distress comes. 72
33:3 The nations run away when they hear a loud noise; 73
the nations scatter when you spring into action! 74
33:4 Your plunder 75 disappears as if locusts were eating it; 76
they swarm over it like locusts! 77
33:5 The Lord is exalted, 78
indeed, 79 he lives in heaven; 80
he fills Zion with justice and fairness.
33:6 He is your constant source of stability; 81
he abundantly provides safety and great wisdom; 82
he gives all this to those who fear him. 83
33:7 Look, ambassadors 84 cry out in the streets;
messengers sent to make peace 85 weep bitterly.
33:8 Highways are empty, 86
there are no travelers. 87
Treaties are broken, 88
witnesses are despised, 89
human life is treated with disrespect. 90
33:9 The land 91 dries up 92 and withers away;
the forest of Lebanon shrivels up 93 and decays.
Sharon 94 is like the desert; 95
Bashan and Carmel 96 are parched. 97
33:10 “Now I will rise up,” says the Lord.
“Now I will exalt myself;
now I will magnify myself. 98
33:11 You conceive straw, 99
you give birth to chaff;
your breath is a fire that destroys you. 100
33:12 The nations will be burned to ashes; 101
like thorn bushes that have been cut down, they will be set on fire.
33:13 You who are far away, listen to what I have done!
You who are close by, recognize my strength!”
33:14 Sinners are afraid in Zion;
panic 102 grips the godless. 103
They say, 104 ‘Who among us can coexist with destructive fire?
Who among us can coexist with unquenchable 105 fire?’
33:15 The one who lives 106 uprightly 107
and speaks honestly;
the one who refuses to profit from oppressive measures
and rejects a bribe; 108
the one who does not plot violent crimes 109
and does not seek to harm others 110 –
33:16 This is the person who will live in a secure place; 111
he will find safety in the rocky, mountain strongholds; 112
he will have food
and a constant supply of water.
33:17 You will see a king in his splendor; 113
you will see a wide land. 114
33:18 Your mind will recall the terror you experienced, 115
and you will ask yourselves, 116 “Where is the scribe?
Where is the one who weighs the money?
Where is the one who counts the towers?” 117
33:19 You will no longer see a defiant 118 people
whose language you do not comprehend, 119
whose derisive speech you do not understand. 120
33:20 Look at Zion, the city where we hold religious festivals!
You 121 will see Jerusalem, 122
a peaceful settlement,
a tent that stays put; 123
its stakes will never be pulled up;
none of its ropes will snap in two.
33:21 Instead the Lord will rule there as our mighty king. 124
Rivers and wide streams will flow through it; 125
no war galley will enter; 126
no large ships will sail through. 127
33:22 For the Lord, our ruler,
the Lord, our commander,
the Lord, our king –
he will deliver us.
33:23 Though at this time your ropes are slack, 128
the mast is not secured, 129
and the sail 130 is not unfurled,
at that time you will divide up a great quantity of loot; 131
even the lame will drag off plunder. 132
33:24 No resident of Zion 133 will say, “I am ill”;
the people who live there will have their sin forgiven.