10:1 Those who enact unjust policies are as good as dead, 1
those who are always instituting unfair regulations, 2
10:2 to keep the poor from getting fair treatment,
and to deprive 3 the oppressed among my people of justice,
so they can steal what widows own,
and loot what belongs to orphans. 4
10:3 What will you do on judgment day, 5
when destruction arrives from a distant place?
To whom will you run for help?
Where will you leave your wealth?
10:4 You will have no place to go, except to kneel with the prisoners,
or to fall among those who have been killed. 6
Despite all this, his anger does not subside,
and his hand is ready to strike again. 7
10:5 Assyria, the club I use to vent my anger, is as good as dead, 8
a cudgel with which I angrily punish. 9
10:6 I sent him 10 against a godless 11 nation,
I ordered him to attack the people with whom I was angry, 12
to take plunder and to carry away loot,
to trample them down 13 like dirt in the streets.
10:7 But he does not agree with this,
his mind does not reason this way, 14
for his goal is to destroy,
and to eliminate many nations. 15
10:8 Indeed, 16 he says:
“Are not my officials all kings?
10:9 Is not Calneh like Carchemish?
Hamath like Arpad?
Samaria like Damascus? 17
10:10 I overpowered kingdoms ruled by idols, 18
whose carved images were more impressive than Jerusalem’s 19 or Samaria’s.
10:11 As I have done to Samaria and its idols,
so I will do to Jerusalem and its idols.” 20
10:12 But when 21 the sovereign master 22 finishes judging 23 Mount Zion and Jerusalem, then I 24 will punish the king of Assyria for what he has proudly planned and for the arrogant attitude he displays. 25 10:13 For he says:
“By my strong hand I have accomplished this,
by my strategy that I devised.
I invaded the territory of nations, 26
and looted their storehouses.
Like a mighty conqueror, 27 I brought down rulers. 28
10:14 My hand discovered the wealth of the nations, as if it were in a nest,
as one gathers up abandoned eggs,
I gathered up the whole earth.
There was no wing flapping,
or open mouth chirping.” 29
10:15 Does an ax exalt itself over the one who wields it,
or a saw magnify itself over the one who cuts with it? 30
As if a scepter should brandish the one who raises it,
or a staff should lift up what is not made of wood!
10:16 For this reason 31 the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, will make his healthy ones emaciated. 32 His majestic glory will go up in smoke. 33
10:17 The light of Israel 34 will become a fire,
their Holy One 35 will become a flame;
it will burn and consume the Assyrian king’s 36 briers
and his thorns in one day.
10:18 The splendor of his forest and his orchard
will be completely destroyed, 37
as when a sick man’s life ebbs away. 38
10:19 There will be so few trees left in his forest,
a child will be able to count them. 39
10:20 At that time 40 those left in Israel, those who remain of the family 41 of Jacob, will no longer rely on a foreign leader that abuses them. 42 Instead they will truly 43 rely on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. 44 10:21 A remnant will come back, a remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God. 45 10:22 For though your people, Israel, are as numerous as 46 the sand on the seashore, only a remnant will come back. 47 Destruction has been decreed; 48 just punishment 49 is about to engulf you. 50 10:23 The sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, is certainly ready to carry out the decreed destruction throughout the land. 51
10:24 So 52 here is what the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, says: “My people who live in Zion, do not be afraid of Assyria, even though they beat you with a club and lift their cudgel against you as Egypt did. 53 10:25 For very soon my fury 54 will subside, and my anger will be directed toward their destruction.” 10:26 The Lord who commands armies is about to beat them 55 with a whip, similar to the way he struck down Midian at the rock of Oreb. 56 He will use his staff against the sea, lifting it up as he did in Egypt. 57
10:27 At that time 58
the Lord will remove their burden from your shoulders, 59
and their yoke from your neck;
the yoke will be taken off because your neck will be too large. 60
10:28 61 They 62 attacked 63 Aiath,
moved through Migron,
depositing their supplies at Micmash.
10:29 They went through the pass,
spent the night at Geba.
Ramah trembled,
Gibeah of Saul ran away.
10:30 Shout out, daughter of Gallim!
Pay attention, Laishah!
Answer her, Anathoth! 64
10:31 Madmenah flees,
the residents of Gebim have hidden.
10:32 This very day, standing in Nob,
they shake their fist at Daughter Zion’s mountain 65 –
at the hill of Jerusalem.
10:33 Look, the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies,
is ready to cut off the branches with terrifying power. 66
The tallest trees 67 will be cut down,
the loftiest ones will be brought low.
10:34 The thickets of the forest will be chopped down with an ax,
and mighty Lebanon will fall. 68
11:1 A shoot will grow out of Jesse’s 69 root stock,
a bud will sprout 70 from his roots.
11:2 The Lord’s spirit will rest on him 71 –
a spirit that gives extraordinary wisdom, 72
a spirit that provides the ability to execute plans, 73
a spirit that produces absolute loyalty to the Lord. 74
11:3 He will take delight in obeying the Lord. 75
He will not judge by mere appearances, 76
or make decisions on the basis of hearsay. 77
11:4 He will treat the poor fairly, 78
and make right decisions 79 for the downtrodden of the earth. 80
He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, 81
and order the wicked to be executed. 82
11:5 Justice will be like a belt around his waist,
integrity will be like a belt around his hips. 83
11:6 A wolf will reside 84 with a lamb,
and a leopard will lie down with a young goat;
an ox and a young lion will graze together, 85
as a small child leads them along.
11:7 A cow and a bear will graze together,
their young will lie down together. 86
A lion, like an ox, will eat straw.
11:8 A baby 87 will play
over the hole of a snake; 88
over the nest 89 of a serpent
an infant 90 will put his hand. 91
11:9 They will no longer injure or destroy
on my entire royal mountain. 92
For there will be universal submission to the Lord’s sovereignty,
just as the waters completely cover the sea. 93
11:10 At that time 94 a root from Jesse 95 will stand like a signal flag for the nations. Nations will look to him for guidance, 96 and his residence will be majestic. 11:11 At that time 97 the sovereign master 98 will again lift his hand 99 to reclaim 100 the remnant of his people 101 from Assyria, Egypt, Pathros, 102 Cush, 103 Elam, Shinar, 104 Hamath, and the seacoasts. 105
11:12 He will lift a signal flag for the nations;
he will gather Israel’s dispersed people 106
and assemble Judah’s scattered people
from the four corners of the earth.
11:13 Ephraim’s jealousy will end, 107
and Judah’s hostility 108 will be eliminated.
Ephraim will no longer be jealous of Judah,
and Judah will no longer be hostile toward Ephraim.
11:14 They will swoop down 109 on the Philistine hills to the west; 110
together they will loot the people of the east.
They will take over Edom and Moab, 111
and the Ammonites will be their subjects.
11:15 The Lord will divide 112 the gulf 113 of the Egyptian Sea; 114
he will wave his hand over the Euphrates River 115 and send a strong wind, 116
he will turn it into seven dried-up streams, 117
and enable them to walk across in their sandals.
11:16 There will be a highway leading out of Assyria
for the remnant of his people, 118
just as there was for Israel,
when 119 they went up from the land of Egypt.
12:1 At that time 120 you will say:
“I praise you, O Lord,
for even though you were angry with me,
your anger subsided, and you consoled me.
12:2 Look, God is my deliverer! 121
I will trust in him 122 and not fear.
For the Lord gives me strength and protects me; 123
he has become my deliverer.” 124
12:3 Joyfully you will draw water
from the springs of deliverance. 125
12:4 At that time 126 you will say:
“Praise the Lord!
Ask him for help! 127
Publicize his mighty acts among the nations!
Make it known that he is unique! 128
12:5 Sing to the Lord, for he has done magnificent things,
let this be known 129 throughout the earth!
12:6 Cry out and shout for joy, O citizens of Zion,
for the Holy One of Israel 130 acts mightily 131 among you!”
13:1 132 This is a message about Babylon that God revealed to Isaiah son of Amoz: 133
13:2 134 On a bare hill raise a signal flag,
shout to them,
wave your hand,
so they might enter the gates of the princes!
13:3 I have given orders to my chosen soldiers; 135
I have summoned the warriors through whom I will vent my anger, 136
my boasting, arrogant ones. 137
13:4 138 There is a loud noise on the mountains –
it sounds like a large army! 139
There is great commotion among the kingdoms 140 –
nations are being assembled!
The Lord who commands armies is mustering
forces for battle.
13:5 They come from a distant land,
from the horizon. 141
It is the Lord with his instruments of judgment, 142
coming to destroy the whole earth. 143
13:6 Wail, for the Lord’s day of judgment 144 is near;
it comes with all the destructive power of the sovereign judge. 145
13:7 For this reason all hands hang limp, 146
every human heart loses its courage. 147
13:8 They panic –
cramps and pain seize hold of them
like those of a woman who is straining to give birth.
They look at one another in astonishment;
their faces are flushed red. 148
13:9 Look, the Lord’s day of judgment 149 is coming;
it is a day of cruelty and savage, raging anger, 150
destroying 151 the earth 152
and annihilating its sinners.
13:10 Indeed the stars in the sky and their constellations
no longer give out their light; 153
the sun is darkened as soon as it rises,
and the moon does not shine. 154
13:11 155 I will punish the world for its evil, 156
and wicked people for their sin.
I will put an end to the pride of the insolent,
I will bring down the arrogance of tyrants. 157
13:12 I will make human beings more scarce than pure gold,
and people more scarce 158 than gold from Ophir.
13:13 So I will shake the heavens, 159
and the earth will shake loose from its foundation, 160
because of the fury of the Lord who commands armies,
in the day he vents his raging anger. 161
13:14 Like a frightened gazelle 162
or a sheep with no shepherd,
each will turn toward home, 163
each will run to his homeland.
13:15 Everyone who is caught will be stabbed;
everyone who is seized 164 will die 165 by the sword.
13:16 Their children will be smashed to pieces before their very eyes;
their houses will be looted
and their wives raped.
13:17 Look, I am stirring up the Medes to attack them; 166
they are not concerned about silver,
nor are they interested in gold. 167
13:18 Their arrows will cut young men to ribbons; 168
they have no compassion on a person’s offspring, 169
they will not 170 look with pity on children.
13:19 Babylon, the most admired 171 of kingdoms,
the Chaldeans’ source of honor and pride, 172
will be destroyed by God
just as Sodom and Gomorrah were. 173
13:20 No one will live there again;
no one will ever reside there again. 174
No bedouin 175 will camp 176 there,
no shepherds will rest their flocks 177 there.
13:21 Wild animals will rest there,
the ruined 178 houses will be full of hyenas. 179
Ostriches will live there,
wild goats will skip among the ruins. 180
13:22 Wild dogs will yip in her ruined fortresses,
jackals will yelp in the once-splendid palaces. 181
Her time is almost up, 182
her days will not be prolonged. 183
14:1 The Lord will certainly have compassion on Jacob; 184 he will again choose Israel as his special people 185 and restore 186 them to their land. Resident foreigners will join them and unite with the family 187 of Jacob. 14:2 Nations will take them and bring them back to their own place. Then the family of Jacob will make foreigners their servants as they settle in the Lord’s land. 188 They will make their captors captives and rule over the ones who oppressed them. 14:3 When the Lord gives you relief from your suffering and anxiety, 189 and from the hard labor which you were made to perform, 14:4 you will taunt the king of Babylon with these words: 190
“Look how the oppressor has met his end!
Hostility 191 has ceased!
14:5 The Lord has broken the club of the wicked,
the scepter of rulers.
14:6 It 192 furiously struck down nations
with unceasing blows. 193
It angrily ruled over nations,
oppressing them without restraint. 194
14:7 The whole earth rests and is quiet;
they break into song.
14:8 The evergreens also rejoice over your demise, 195
as do the cedars of Lebanon, singing, 196
‘Since you fell asleep, 197
no woodsman comes up to chop us down!’ 198
14:9 Sheol 199 below is stirred up about you,
ready to meet you when you arrive.
It rouses 200 the spirits of the dead for you,
all the former leaders of the earth; 201
it makes all the former kings of the nations
rise from their thrones. 202
14:10 All of them respond to you, saying:
‘You too have become weak like us!
You have become just like us!
14:11 Your splendor 203 has been brought down to Sheol,
as well as the sound of your stringed instruments. 204
You lie on a bed of maggots,
with a blanket of worms over you. 205
14:12 Look how you have fallen from the sky,
O shining one, son of the dawn! 206
You have been cut down to the ground,
O conqueror 207 of the nations! 208
14:13 You said to yourself, 209
“I will climb up to the sky.
Above the stars of El 210
I will set up my throne.
I will rule on the mountain of assembly
on the remote slopes of Zaphon. 211
14:14 I will climb up to the tops 212 of the clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High!” 213
14:15 But you were brought down 214 to Sheol,
to the remote slopes of the pit. 215
14:16 Those who see you stare at you,
they look at you carefully, thinking: 216
“Is this the man who shook the earth,
the one who made kingdoms tremble?
14:17 Is this the one who made the world like a desert,
who ruined its 217 cities,
and refused to free his prisoners so they could return home?”’ 218
14:18 219 As for all the kings of the nations,
all of them 220 lie down in splendor, 221
each in his own tomb. 222
14:19 But you have been thrown out of your grave
like a shoot that is thrown away. 223
You lie among 224 the slain,
among those who have been slashed by the sword,
among those headed for 225 the stones of the pit, 226
as if you were a mangled corpse. 227
14:20 You will not be buried with them, 228
because you destroyed your land
and killed your people.
The offspring of the wicked
will never be mentioned again.
14:21 Prepare to execute 229 his sons
for the sins their ancestors have committed. 230
They must not rise up and take possession of the earth,
or fill the surface of the world with cities.” 231
14:22 “I will rise up against them,”
says the Lord who commands armies.
“I will blot out all remembrance of Babylon and destroy all her people, 232
including the offspring she produces,” 233
says the Lord.
14:23 “I will turn her into a place that is overrun with wild animals 234
and covered with pools of stagnant water.
I will get rid of her, just as one sweeps away dirt with a broom,” 235
says the Lord who commands armies.
14:24 236 The Lord who commands armies makes this solemn vow:
“Be sure of this:
Just as I have intended, so it will be;
just as I have planned, it will happen.
14:25 I will break Assyria 237 in my land,
I will trample them 238 underfoot on my hills.
Their yoke will be removed from my people,
the burden will be lifted from their shoulders. 239
14:26 This is the plan I have devised for the whole earth;
my hand is ready to strike all the nations.” 240
14:27 Indeed, 241 the Lord who commands armies has a plan,
and who can possibly frustrate it?
His hand is ready to strike,
and who can possibly stop it? 242
14:28 In the year King Ahaz died, 243 this message was revealed: 244
14:29 Don’t be so happy, all you Philistines,
just because the club that beat you has been broken! 245
For a viper will grow out of the serpent’s root,
and its fruit will be a darting adder. 246
14:30 The poor will graze in my pastures; 247
the needy will rest securely.
But I will kill your root by famine;
it will put to death all your survivors. 248
14:31 Wail, O city gate!
Cry out, O city!
Melt with fear, 249 all you Philistines!
For out of the north comes a cloud of smoke,
and there are no stragglers in its ranks. 250
14:32 How will they respond to the messengers of this nation? 251
Indeed, the Lord has made Zion secure;
the oppressed among his people will find safety in her.