Isaiah 5

The Song of the Vineyard

1 I will sing for the one I love

a song about his vineyard:

My loved one had a vineyard

on a fertile hillside.

2 He dug it up and cleared it of stones

and planted it with the choicest vines.

He built a watchtower in it

and cut out a winepress as well.

Then he looked for a crop of good grapes,

but it yielded only bad fruit.

3 “Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and people of Judah,

judge between me and my vineyard.

4 What more could have been done for my vineyard

than I have done for it?

When I looked for good grapes,

why did it yield only bad?

5 Now I will tell you

what I am going to do to my vineyard:

I will take away its hedge,

and it will be destroyed;

I will break down its wall,

and it will be trampled.

6 I will make it a wasteland,

neither pruned nor cultivated,

and briers and thorns will grow there.

I will command the clouds

not to rain on it.”

7 The vineyard of theLordAlmighty

is the nation of Israel,

and the people of Judah

are the vines he delighted in.

And he looked for justice, but saw bloodshed;

for righteousness, but heard cries of distress.

Woes and Judgments

8 Woe to you who add house to house

and join field to field

till no space is left

and you live alone in the land.

9 TheLordAlmighty has declared in my hearing:

“Surely the great houses will become desolate,

the fine mansions left without occupants.

10 A ten-acre vineyard will produce only a bathof wine;

# a homerof seed will yield only an ephahof grain.”

11 Woe to those who rise early in the morning

to run after their drinks,

who stay up late at night

till they are inflamed with wine.

12 They have harps and lyres at their banquets,

pipes and timbrels and wine,

but they have no regard for the deeds of theLord,

no respect for the work of his hands.

13 Therefore my people will go into exile

for lack of understanding;

those of high rank will die of hunger

and the common people will be parched with thirst.

14 Therefore Death expands its jaws,

opening wide its mouth;

into it will descend their nobles and masses

with all their brawlers and revelers.

15 So people will be brought low

and everyone humbled,

the eyes of the arrogant humbled.

16 But theLordAlmighty will be exalted by his justice,

and the holy God will be proved holy by his righteous acts.

17 Then sheep will graze as in their own pasture;

# lambs will feedamong the ruins of the rich.

18 Woe to those who draw sin along with cords of deceit,

and wickedness as with cart ropes,

19 to those who say, “Let God hurry;

let him hasten his work

so we may see it.

The plan of the Holy One of Israel—

let it approach, let it come into view,

so we may know it.”

20 Woe to those who call evil good

and good evil,

who put darkness for light

and light for darkness,

who put bitter for sweet

and sweet for bitter.

21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes

and clever in their own sight.

22 Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine

and champions at mixing drinks,

23 who acquit the guilty for a bribe,

but deny justice to the innocent.

24 Therefore, as tongues of fire lick up straw

and as dry grass sinks down in the flames,

so their roots will decay

and their flowers blow away like dust;

for they have rejected the law of theLordAlmighty

and spurned the word of the Holy One of Israel.

25 Therefore theLord’s anger burns against his people;

his hand is raised and he strikes them down.

The mountains shake,

and the dead bodies are like refuse in the streets.

Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away,

his hand is still upraised.

26 He lifts up a banner for the distant nations,

he whistles for those at the ends of the earth.

Here they come,

swiftly and speedily!

27 Not one of them grows tired or stumbles,

not one slumbers or sleeps;

not a belt is loosened at the waist,

not a sandal strap is broken.

28 Their arrows are sharp,

all their bows are strung;

their horses’ hooves seem like flint,

their chariot wheels like a whirlwind.

29 Their roar is like that of the lion,

they roar like young lions;

they growl as they seize their prey

and carry it off with no one to rescue.

30 In that day they will roar over it

like the roaring of the sea.

And if one looks at the land,

there is only darkness and distress;

even the sun will be darkened by clouds.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/3/32k/ISA/5-91600d0f7d0302e7abec323cca901638.mp3?version_id=111—

Isaiah 6

Isaiah’s Commission

1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple.

2 Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying.

3 And they were calling to one another:

“Holy, holy, holy is theLordAlmighty;

the whole earth is full of his glory.”

4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.

5 “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, theLordAlmighty.”

6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar.

7 With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”

8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”

And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

9 He said, “Go and tell this people:

“ ‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding;

be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’

10 Make the heart of this people calloused;

make their ears dull

# and close their eyes.

Otherwise they might see with their eyes,

hear with their ears,

understand with their hearts,

and turn and be healed.”

11 Then I said, “For how long, Lord?”

And he answered:

“Until the cities lie ruined

and without inhabitant,

until the houses are left deserted

and the fields ruined and ravaged,

12 until theLordhas sent everyone far away

and the land is utterly forsaken.

13 And though a tenth remains in the land,

it will again be laid waste.

But as the terebinth and oak

leave stumps when they are cut down,

so the holy seed will be the stump in the land.”

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/3/32k/ISA/6-3c0da05a903a7023d2856302b266b200.mp3?version_id=111—

Isaiah 7

The Sign of Immanuel

1 When Ahaz son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, was king of Judah, King Rezin of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel marched up to fight against Jerusalem, but they could not overpower it.

2 Now the house of David was told, “Aram has allied itself withEphraim”; so the hearts of Ahaz and his people were shaken, as the trees of the forest are shaken by the wind.

3 Then theLordsaid to Isaiah, “Go out, you and your son Shear-Jashub,to meet Ahaz at the end of the aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the road to the Launderer’s Field.

4 Say to him, ‘Be careful, keep calm and don’t be afraid. Do not lose heart because of these two smoldering stubs of firewood—because of the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and of the son of Remaliah.

5 Aram, Ephraim and Remaliah’s son have plotted your ruin, saying,

6 “Let us invade Judah; let us tear it apart and divide it among ourselves, and make the son of Tabeel king over it.”

7 Yet this is what the SovereignLordsays:

“ ‘It will not take place,

it will not happen,

8 for the head of Aram is Damascus,

and the head of Damascus is only Rezin.

Within sixty-five years

Ephraim will be too shattered to be a people.

9 The head of Ephraim is Samaria,

and the head of Samaria is only Remaliah’s son.

If you do not stand firm in your faith,

you will not stand at all.’ ”

10 Again theLordspoke to Ahaz,

11 “Ask theLordyour God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights.”

12 But Ahaz said, “I will not ask; I will not put theLordto the test.”

13 Then Isaiah said, “Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of humans? Will you try the patience of my God also?

14 Therefore the Lord himself will give youa sign: The virginwill conceive and give birth to a son, andwill call him Immanuel.

15 He will be eating curds and honey when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right,

16 for before the boy knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste.

17 TheLordwill bring on you and on your people and on the house of your father a time unlike any since Ephraim broke away from Judah—he will bring the king of Assyria.”

Assyria, the Lord’s Instrument

18 In that day theLordwill whistle for flies from the Nile delta in Egypt and for bees from the land of Assyria.

19 They will all come and settle in the steep ravines and in the crevices in the rocks, on all the thornbushes and at all the water holes.

20 In that day the Lord will use a razor hired from beyond the Euphrates River—the king of Assyria—to shave your heads and private parts, and to cut off your beards also.

21 In that day, a person will keep alive a young cow and two goats.

22 And because of the abundance of the milk they give, there will be curds to eat. All who remain in the land will eat curds and honey.

23 In that day, in every place where there were a thousand vines worth a thousand silver shekels,there will be only briers and thorns.

24 Hunters will go there with bow and arrow, for the land will be covered with briers and thorns.

25 As for all the hills once cultivated by the hoe, you will no longer go there for fear of the briers and thorns; they will become places where cattle are turned loose and where sheep run.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/3/32k/ISA/7-319cfa2f16c5e5e61a42e0a65373b05c.mp3?version_id=111—

Isaiah 8

Isaiah and His Children as Signs

1 TheLordsaid to me, “Take a large scroll and write on it with an ordinary pen: Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.”

2 So I called in Uriah the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberekiah as reliable witnesses for me.

3 Then I made love to the prophetess, and she conceived and gave birth to a son. And theLordsaid to me, “Name him Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.

4 For before the boy knows how to say ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the wealth of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria will be carried off by the king of Assyria.”

5 TheLordspoke to me again:

6 “Because this people has rejected

the gently flowing waters of Shiloah

and rejoices over Rezin

and the son of Remaliah,

7 therefore the Lord is about to bring against them

the mighty floodwaters of the Euphrates—

the king of Assyria with all his pomp.

It will overflow all its channels,

run over all its banks

8 and sweep on into Judah, swirling over it,

passing through it and reaching up to the neck.

Its outspread wings will cover the breadth of your land,

# Immanuel!”

9 Raise the war cry,you nations, and be shattered!

Listen, all you distant lands.

Prepare for battle, and be shattered!

Prepare for battle, and be shattered!

10 Devise your strategy, but it will be thwarted;

propose your plan, but it will not stand,

# for God is with us.

11 This is what theLordsays to me with his strong hand upon me, warning me not to follow the way of this people:

12 “Do not call conspiracy

everything this people calls a conspiracy;

do not fear what they fear,

and do not dread it.

13 TheLordAlmighty is the one you are to regard as holy,

he is the one you are to fear,

he is the one you are to dread.

14 He will be a holy place;

for both Israel and Judah he will be

a stone that causes people to stumble

and a rock that makes them fall.

And for the people of Jerusalem he will be

a trap and a snare.

15 Many of them will stumble;

they will fall and be broken,

they will be snared and captured.”

16 Bind up this testimony of warning

and seal up God’s instruction among my disciples.

17 I will wait for theLord,

who is hiding his face from the descendants of Jacob.

I will put my trust in him.

18 Here am I, and the children theLordhas given me. We are signs and symbols in Israel from theLordAlmighty, who dwells on Mount Zion.

The Darkness Turns to Light

19 When someone tells you to consult mediums and spiritists, who whisper and mutter, should not a people inquire of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living?

20 Consult God’s instruction and the testimony of warning. If anyone does not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn.

21 Distressed and hungry, they will roam through the land; when they are famished, they will become enraged and, looking upward, will curse their king and their God.

22 Then they will look toward the earth and see only distress and darkness and fearful gloom, and they will be thrust into utter darkness.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/3/32k/ISA/8-ab7caa77dbc0ab5649ae2c41bcb59b94.mp3?version_id=111—

Isaiah 9

#

1 Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the nations, by the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan—

2 The people walking in darkness

have seen a great light;

on those living in the land of deep darkness

a light has dawned.

3 You have enlarged the nation

and increased their joy;

they rejoice before you

as people rejoice at the harvest,

as warriors rejoice

when dividing the plunder.

4 For as in the day of Midian’s defeat,

you have shattered

the yoke that burdens them,

the bar across their shoulders,

the rod of their oppressor.

5 Every warrior’s boot used in battle

and every garment rolled in blood

will be destined for burning,

will be fuel for the fire.

6 For to us a child is born,

to us a son is given,

and the government will be on his shoulders.

And he will be called

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

7 Of the greatness of his government and peace

there will be no end.

He will reign on David’s throne

and over his kingdom,

establishing and upholding it

with justice and righteousness

from that time on and forever.

The zeal of theLordAlmighty

will accomplish this.

The Lord’s Anger Against Israel

8 The Lord has sent a message against Jacob;

it will fall on Israel.

9 All the people will know it—

Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria—

who say with pride

and arrogance of heart,

10 “The bricks have fallen down,

but we will rebuild with dressed stone;

the fig trees have been felled,

but we will replace them with cedars.”

11 But theLordhas strengthened Rezin’s foes against them

and has spurred their enemies on.

12 Arameans from the east and Philistines from the west

have devoured Israel with open mouth.

Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away,

his hand is still upraised.

13 But the people have not returned to him who struck them,

nor have they sought theLordAlmighty.

14 So theLordwill cut off from Israel both head and tail,

both palm branch and reed in a single day;

15 the elders and dignitaries are the head,

the prophets who teach lies are the tail.

16 Those who guide this people mislead them,

and those who are guided are led astray.

17 Therefore the Lord will take no pleasure in the young men,

nor will he pity the fatherless and widows,

for everyone is ungodly and wicked,

every mouth speaks folly.

Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away,

his hand is still upraised.

18 Surely wickedness burns like a fire;

it consumes briers and thorns,

it sets the forest thickets ablaze,

so that it rolls upward in a column of smoke.

19 By the wrath of theLordAlmighty

the land will be scorched

and the people will be fuel for the fire;

they will not spare one another.

20 On the right they will devour,

but still be hungry;

on the left they will eat,

but not be satisfied.

# Each will feed on the flesh of their own offspring:

21 Manasseh will feed on Ephraim, and Ephraim on Manasseh;

together they will turn against Judah.

Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away,

his hand is still upraised.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/3/32k/ISA/9-64982118a3ef6e07eb10beabccae7bcc.mp3?version_id=111—

Isaiah 10

1 Woe to those who make unjust laws,

to those who issue oppressive decrees,

2 to deprive the poor of their rights

and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people,

making widows their prey

and robbing the fatherless.

3 What will you do on the day of reckoning,

when disaster comes from afar?

To whom will you run for help?

Where will you leave your riches?

4 Nothing will remain but to cringe among the captives

or fall among the slain.

Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away,

his hand is still upraised.

God’s Judgment on Assyria

5 “Woe to the Assyrian, the rod of my anger,

in whose hand is the club of my wrath!

6 I send him against a godless nation,

I dispatch him against a people who anger me,

to seize loot and snatch plunder,

and to trample them down like mud in the streets.

7 But this is not what he intends,

this is not what he has in mind;

his purpose is to destroy,

to put an end to many nations.

8 ‘Are not my commanders all kings?’ he says.

9 ‘Has not Kalno fared like Carchemish?

Is not Hamath like Arpad,

and Samaria like Damascus?

10 As my hand seized the kingdoms of the idols,

kingdoms whose images excelled those of Jerusalem and Samaria—

11 shall I not deal with Jerusalem and her images

as I dealt with Samaria and her idols?’ ”

12 When the Lord has finished all his work against Mount Zion and Jerusalem, he will say, “I will punish the king of Assyria for the willful pride of his heart and the haughty look in his eyes.

13 For he says:

“ ‘By the strength of my hand I have done this,

and by my wisdom, because I have understanding.

I removed the boundaries of nations,

I plundered their treasures;

# like a mighty one I subduedtheir kings.

14 As one reaches into a nest,

so my hand reached for the wealth of the nations;

as people gather abandoned eggs,

so I gathered all the countries;

not one flapped a wing,

or opened its mouth to chirp.’ ”

15 Does the ax raise itself above the person who swings it,

or the saw boast against the one who uses it?

As if a rod were to wield the person who lifts it up,

or a club brandish the one who is not wood!

16 Therefore, the Lord, theLordAlmighty,

will send a wasting disease upon his sturdy warriors;

under his pomp a fire will be kindled

like a blazing flame.

17 The Light of Israel will become a fire,

their Holy One a flame;

in a single day it will burn and consume

his thorns and his briers.

18 The splendor of his forests and fertile fields

it will completely destroy,

as when a sick person wastes away.

19 And the remaining trees of his forests will be so few

that a child could write them down.

The Remnant of Israel

20 In that day the remnant of Israel,

the survivors of Jacob,

will no longer rely on him

who struck them down

but will truly rely on theLord,

the Holy One of Israel.

21 A remnant will return,a remnant of Jacob

will return to the Mighty God.

22 Though your people be like the sand by the sea, Israel,

only a remnant will return.

Destruction has been decreed,

overwhelming and righteous.

23 The Lord, theLordAlmighty, will carry out

the destruction decreed upon the whole land.

24 Therefore this is what the Lord, theLordAlmighty, says:

“My people who live in Zion,

do not be afraid of the Assyrians,

who beat you with a rod

and lift up a club against you, as Egypt did.

25 Very soon my anger against you will end

and my wrath will be directed to their destruction.”

26 TheLordAlmighty will lash them with a whip,

as when he struck down Midian at the rock of Oreb;

and he will raise his staff over the waters,

as he did in Egypt.

27 In that day their burden will be lifted from your shoulders,

their yoke from your neck;

the yoke will be broken

# because you have grown so fat.

28 They enter Aiath;

they pass through Migron;

they store supplies at Mikmash.

29 They go over the pass, and say,

“We will camp overnight at Geba.”

Ramah trembles;

Gibeah of Saul flees.

30 Cry out, Daughter Gallim!

Listen, Laishah!

Poor Anathoth!

31 Madmenah is in flight;

the people of Gebim take cover.

32 This day they will halt at Nob;

they will shake their fist

at the mount of Daughter Zion,

at the hill of Jerusalem.

33 See, the Lord, theLordAlmighty,

will lop off the boughs with great power.

The lofty trees will be felled,

the tall ones will be brought low.

34 He will cut down the forest thickets with an ax;

Lebanon will fall before the Mighty One.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/3/32k/ISA/10-c9bfee4517ac06a0c05719014fe145c8.mp3?version_id=111—

Isaiah 11

The Branch From Jesse

1 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;

from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.

2 The Spirit of theLordwill rest on him—

the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,

the Spirit of counsel and of might,

the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of theLord—

3 and he will delight in the fear of theLord.

He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,

or decide by what he hears with his ears;

4 but with righteousness he will judge the needy,

with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.

He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth;

with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.

5 Righteousness will be his belt

and faithfulness the sash around his waist.

6 The wolf will live with the lamb,

the leopard will lie down with the goat,

# the calf and the lion and the yearlingtogether;

and a little child will lead them.

7 The cow will feed with the bear,

their young will lie down together,

and the lion will eat straw like the ox.

8 The infant will play near the cobra’s den,

and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest.

9 They will neither harm nor destroy

on all my holy mountain,

for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of theLord

as the waters cover the sea.

10 In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious.

11 In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the surviving remnant of his people from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush,from Elam, from Babylonia,from Hamath and from the islands of the Mediterranean.

12 He will raise a banner for the nations

and gather the exiles of Israel;

he will assemble the scattered people of Judah

from the four quarters of the earth.

13 Ephraim’s jealousy will vanish,

# and Judah’s enemieswill be destroyed;

Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah,

nor Judah hostile toward Ephraim.

14 They will swoop down on the slopes of Philistia to the west;

together they will plunder the people to the east.

They will subdue Edom and Moab,

and the Ammonites will be subject to them.

15 TheLordwill dry up

the gulf of the Egyptian sea;

with a scorching wind he will sweep his hand

over the Euphrates River.

He will break it up into seven streams

so that anyone can cross over in sandals.

16 There will be a highway for the remnant of his people

that is left from Assyria,

as there was for Israel

when they came up from Egypt.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/3/32k/ISA/11-e0c76bf9cdfe98427cc8465dbb5a912d.mp3?version_id=111—

Isaiah 12

Songs of Praise

1 In that day you will say:

“I will praise you,Lord.

Although you were angry with me,

your anger has turned away

and you have comforted me.

2 Surely God is my salvation;

I will trust and not be afraid.

# TheLord, theLordhimself, is my strength and my defense;

he has become my salvation.”

3 With joy you will draw water

from the wells of salvation.

4 In that day you will say:

“Give praise to theLord, proclaim his name;

make known among the nations what he has done,

and proclaim that his name is exalted.

5 Sing to theLord, for he has done glorious things;

let this be known to all the world.

6 Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion,

for great is the Holy One of Israel among you.”

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/3/32k/ISA/12-8c13457c812b294b9427d36736e80e43.mp3?version_id=111—

Isaiah 13

A Prophecy Against Babylon

1 A prophecy against Babylon that Isaiah son of Amoz saw:

2 Raise a banner on a bare hilltop,

shout to them;

beckon to them

to enter the gates of the nobles.

3 I have commanded those I prepared for battle;

I have summoned my warriors to carry out my wrath—

those who rejoice in my triumph.

4 Listen, a noise on the mountains,

like that of a great multitude!

Listen, an uproar among the kingdoms,

like nations massing together!

TheLordAlmighty is mustering

an army for war.

5 They come from faraway lands,

from the ends of the heavens—

theLordand the weapons of his wrath—

to destroy the whole country.

6 Wail, for the day of theLordis near;

# it will come like destruction from the Almighty.

7 Because of this, all hands will go limp,

every heart will melt with fear.

8 Terror will seize them,

pain and anguish will grip them;

they will writhe like a woman in labor.

They will look aghast at each other,

their faces aflame.

9 See, the day of theLordis coming

—a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger—

to make the land desolate

and destroy the sinners within it.

10 The stars of heaven and their constellations

will not show their light.

The rising sun will be darkened

and the moon will not give its light.

11 I will punish the world for its evil,

the wicked for their sins.

I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty

and will humble the pride of the ruthless.

12 I will make people scarcer than pure gold,

more rare than the gold of Ophir.

13 Therefore I will make the heavens tremble;

and the earth will shake from its place

at the wrath of theLordAlmighty,

in the day of his burning anger.

14 Like a hunted gazelle,

like sheep without a shepherd,

they will all return to their own people,

they will flee to their native land.

15 Whoever is captured will be thrust through;

all who are caught will fall by the sword.

16 Their infants will be dashed to pieces before their eyes;

their houses will be looted and their wives violated.

17 See, I will stir up against them the Medes,

who do not care for silver

and have no delight in gold.

18 Their bows will strike down the young men;

they will have no mercy on infants,

nor will they look with compassion on children.

19 Babylon, the jewel of kingdoms,

# the pride and glory of the Babylonians,

will be overthrown by God

like Sodom and Gomorrah.

20 She will never be inhabited

or lived in through all generations;

there no nomads will pitch their tents,

there no shepherds will rest their flocks.

21 But desert creatures will lie there,

jackals will fill her houses;

there the owls will dwell,

and there the wild goats will leap about.

22 Hyenas will inhabit her strongholds,

jackals her luxurious palaces.

Her time is at hand,

and her days will not be prolonged.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/3/32k/ISA/13-859a81465af949641ba5bc699633ff10.mp3?version_id=111—

Isaiah 14

1 TheLordwill have compassion on Jacob;

once again he will choose Israel

and will settle them in their own land.

Foreigners will join them

and unite with the descendants of Jacob.

2 Nations will take them

and bring them to their own place.

And Israel will take possession of the nations

and make them male and female servants in theLord’s land.

They will make captives of their captors

and rule over their oppressors.

3 On the day theLordgives you relief from your suffering and turmoil and from the harsh labor forced on you,

4 you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon:

How the oppressor has come to an end!

# How his furyhas ended!

5 TheLordhas broken the rod of the wicked,

the scepter of the rulers,

6 which in anger struck down peoples

with unceasing blows,

and in fury subdued nations

with relentless aggression.

7 All the lands are at rest and at peace;

they break into singing.

8 Even the junipers and the cedars of Lebanon

gloat over you and say,

“Now that you have been laid low,

no one comes to cut us down.”

9 The realm of the dead below is all astir

to meet you at your coming;

it rouses the spirits of the departed to greet you—

all those who were leaders in the world;

it makes them rise from their thrones—

all those who were kings over the nations.

10 They will all respond,

they will say to you,

“You also have become weak, as we are;

you have become like us.”

11 All your pomp has been brought down to the grave,

along with the noise of your harps;

maggots are spread out beneath you

and worms cover you.

12 How you have fallen from heaven,

morning star, son of the dawn!

You have been cast down to the earth,

you who once laid low the nations!

13 You said in your heart,

“I will ascend to the heavens;

I will raise my throne

above the stars of God;

I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly,

# on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon.

14 I will ascend above the tops of the clouds;

I will make myself like the Most High.”

15 But you are brought down to the realm of the dead,

to the depths of the pit.

16 Those who see you stare at you,

they ponder your fate:

“Is this the man who shook the earth

and made kingdoms tremble,

17 the man who made the world a wilderness,

who overthrew its cities

and would not let his captives go home?”

18 All the kings of the nations lie in state,

each in his own tomb.

19 But you are cast out of your tomb

like a rejected branch;

you are covered with the slain,

with those pierced by the sword,

those who descend to the stones of the pit.

Like a corpse trampled underfoot,

20 you will not join them in burial,

for you have destroyed your land

and killed your people.

Let the offspring of the wicked

never be mentioned again.

21 Prepare a place to slaughter his children

for the sins of their ancestors;

they are not to rise to inherit the land

and cover the earth with their cities.

22 “I will rise up against them,”

declares theLordAlmighty.

“I will wipe out Babylon’s name and survivors,

her offspring and descendants,”

declares theLord.

23 “I will turn her into a place for owls

and into swampland;

I will sweep her with the broom of destruction,”

declares theLordAlmighty.

24 TheLordAlmighty has sworn,

“Surely, as I have planned, so it will be,

and as I have purposed, so it will happen.

25 I will crush the Assyrian in my land;

on my mountains I will trample him down.

His yoke will be taken from my people,

and his burden removed from their shoulders.”

26 This is the plan determined for the whole world;

this is the hand stretched out over all nations.

27 For theLordAlmighty has purposed, and who can thwart him?

His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?

A Prophecy Against the Philistines

28 This prophecy came in the year King Ahaz died:

29 Do not rejoice, all you Philistines,

that the rod that struck you is broken;

from the root of that snake will spring up a viper,

its fruit will be a darting, venomous serpent.

30 The poorest of the poor will find pasture,

and the needy will lie down in safety.

But your root I will destroy by famine;

it will slay your survivors.

31 Wail, you gate! Howl, you city!

Melt away, all you Philistines!

A cloud of smoke comes from the north,

and there is not a straggler in its ranks.

32 What answer shall be given

to the envoys of that nation?

“TheLordhas established Zion,

and in her his afflicted people will find refuge.”

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/3/32k/ISA/14-7e8345a2c938620b08054e7b7c4a17d5.mp3?version_id=111—