"Oh, you sinful nation! You people burdened down by iniquity! You offspring of those who keep practicing what is evil! You corrupt children! "They've abandoned the LORD; they've despised the Holy One of Israel; in their estrangement, they've walked away from me.

"When you come to present yourselves in my presence, who has required you to trample on my courts?

"How the faithful city has become a whore, she who used to be filled with justice! Righteousness used to reside within her, but now only murderers live there.

Therefore this is what the Lord GOD of the Heavenly Armies, the one who is Israel's Mighty One, declares: "Now I'll get relief from his enemies and avenge myself on his foes.

Rebels and sinners will be broken together, and those who forsake the LORD will be consumed.

"For the LORD of the Heavenly Armies has reserved a time to oppose all who are proud and haughty, and the self-exalting they will be humbled.

The LORD will go to court to oppose the elders and princes of his people: "You're the ones who have been devouring the vineyard, the plunder of the poor is in your own houses!

Whoever survives in Zion and whoever remains in Jerusalem will be called holy everyone who has been appointed to survive in Jerusalem

Then the LORD will create over the entire site of Mount Zion including over those who assemble there a cloud by day

"How terrible it will be for you who join house to house, who add field to field, until there is no more room, and you have settled yourselves alone in the middle of the land!"

"How terrible it will be for those who rise at dawn in order to grab a stiff drink, for those who stay up late at night as wine inflames them!

"How terrible it will be for those who parade iniquity with cords of falsehood, who draw sin along as with a cart rope;

who say: "Let God be quick, let him speed up his work so we may see it! Let it happen! let the plan of the Holy One of Israel draw near, so we may recognize it!'"

"How terrible it will be for those who call evil good and good evil, who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness, who substitute what is bitter for what is sweet and what is sweet for what is bitter!"

"How terrible it will be for those who are wise in their own opinion, and clever in their own reckoning!

"How terrible it will be for those who are heroes at drinking wine, and champions in mixing strong drink,

who acquit the guilty for a bribe, and deprive the innocent of justice!"

The foundations of the thresholds quaked at the sound of those who kept calling out, and the Temple was filled with smoke.

Then I heard the voice of the LORD as he was asking, "Whom will I send? Who will go for us?" "Here I am!" I replied. "Send me."

The LORD of the Heavenly Armies he's the one you are to regard as holy. Let him be the one whom you fear, and let him be the one before whom you stand in terror!

Then he will be a sanctuary, but for both houses of Israel he'll also be a stone with which someone strikes himself, a rock one stumbles over, a trap and a snare to those who live in Jerusalem.

I'll wait for the LORD, who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob, and I'll put my trust in him.

Watch out! I and the children whom the LORD has given me are a sign and a wonder in Israel from the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, who resides on Mount Zion."

"So when they advise you, "Ask the mediums your questions, and quiz the spiritists who chirp and mutter,' shouldn't a people instead be consulting their God and not the dead on behalf of those who are living

But there will be no gloom for her who was in distress. Formerly, he brought contempt to the region of Zebulun and the region of Naphtali, but in the future he will have made glorious the way of the sea, the territory beyond the Jordan Galilee of the nations.

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; for those living in a land of deep darkness, a light has shined upon them.

"But the people have not returned to rely on him who struck them, nor have they sought the LORD of the Heavenly Armies.

the elder and the dignitary is the head, and the prophet who teaches lies is the tail.

For those who guide this people have been leading them astray, and those who are guided by them are swallowed up.

"How terrible it will be for the one who enacts unjust decrees, for those who write oppressive laws that they have prescribed

What will you do on the day of Judgment, in the calamity that will come from far away? To whom will you run for help, and where will you leave your wealth,

I'm sending my fury against a godless nation, and I'll command him against the people with whom I'm angry to seize loot and snatch plunder, and to trample them down like mud in the streets.

He keeps bragging: "I've done it by the strength of my hand, and by my wisdom, because I'm so clever. I removed the boundaries of nations, and plundered their treasures; like a bull I brought down those who sat on thrones.

"Does the ax exalt itself over the one who swings it? Or does the saw magnify itself in opposition to the one who wields it? As if a rod were to wield those who lift it, or as if a club were to brandish the one who is not wood!

At that time, the remnant of Israel and the survivors of the house of Jacob will no longer rely on the one who struck them down, but will truly rely on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel.

Therefore this is what the Lord GOD of the Heavenly Armies says: "My people, you who live in Zion, don't be afraid of the Assyrians, of the rod that beats you, who lift up their club against you as the Egyptians did.

At that time, as to the root of Jesse, who will be standing as a banner for the nations, the nations will rally to him, and his resting place is glorious.

Ephraim's jealousy will vanish, and those who are hostile to Judah will be eliminated; Ephraim will no longer be jealous of Judah, and Judah will not be hostile to Ephraim.

Shout aloud, and sing for joy, you who live in Zion, because great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel."

I myself have commanded my consecrated ones; I have also summoned my warriors, those who rejoice in my triumph, to carry out my angry judgments.

Watch out! I'm stirring up the Medes against them, who care nothing for silver and take no delight in gold.

Many nations will take them and bring them to their land and their own place. The house of Israel will put those nations to conscripted labor in the LORD's land. They will take captive those who were their captors, and will rule continually over those who oppressed them.

"The afterlife below is all astir to meet you when you arrive; it rouses up the spirits of the dead to greet you everyone who used to be world leaders. It has raised up from their thrones all who used to be kings of the nations.

"How you have fallen from heaven, Day Star, son of the Dawn! How you have been thrown down to earth, you who laid low the nation!

"Those who see you will stare at you. They will wonder about you: "Is this the man who made the earth tremble, who made kingdoms quake,

who made the world like a desert, who destroyed its cities, who would not open the jails for his prisoners?'

But you are cast away from your grave, like a repulsive branch, your clothing is the slain, those pierced by the sword; those who go down to the Pit. Like a dead body trampled underfoot,

you will not be united with them in burial, for you have destroyed your land, you have slain your people. People will never mention the descendants of those who practice evil again!

For the LORD of the Heavenly Armies has planned, and who can thwart him? His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?"

The Dibon streams are full of blood; but I will bring upon Dibon even more a lion will pounce upon those of Moab who escape, upon those who remain in the land."

then a throne will be established in gracious love, and there will sit in faithfulness in the Tent of David one who judges, seeks justice, and is swift to do what is right."

"How terrible it will be for many nations, who rage like the roaring sea! Oh, how the uproar of nations is like the sound of rushing, mighty water How they roar!

When the evening arrives, watch out sudden terror! By morning they will be there no longer! So it will be for those who plunder us and what will happen to those who rob us."

All you inhabitants of the world, you who live on the earth, when a banner is raised on the mountains, you'll see it. When a trumpet sounds, you'll hear it!

The fishermen will groan, and all who cast hooks into the Nile will lament; those who spread nets upon the water will become weaker and weaker.

Egypt's workers in cloth will be crushed, and all who work for wages will be sick at heart."

And the land of Judah will become a terror to the Egyptians. Everyone to whom it is mentioned will be afraid, because of the uplifted hand of the LORD of the Heavenly Armies that is turning in their direction.

At that time, the inhabitants of this coastland will say, "See, this is what has happened to those on whom we counted and relied for help and deliverance from the king of Assyria! How, then, can we escape?'"

Bring water for the thirsty, you who live in the land of Tema. Meet the fugitive with bread,

And there will be few archers, those who are descendants of Kedar, who survive, because the LORD, the God of Israel, has spoken."

you who are full of commotion, you passionate city, you rollicking town? Your slain weren't killed by the sword, nor are they dead in battle.

All your leaders have fled together; she is captured without using bows. All of you who were caught were captured together, although they had fled while the enemy was still far away.

and built a reservoir between the walls to store water from the Old Pool. But you did not look at the One who did it, nor did you see the One who planned it long ago.

"Come, go to this steward, to Shebna who is in charge of the household, and ask him: "What are you doing here, and who are your relatives here that you could carve out a grave for yourself here cutting out a tomb at the choicest location, chiseling out a resting place for yourself out of solid rock?

and I'll clothe him with your robe and fasten your sash around him. I'll transfer your authority to him, and he'll be a father to those who live in Jerusalem and to the house of Judah.

"You who are crossing over to Tarshish Wail, you inhabitants of the coast!

Who has planned this against Tyre, that bestower of crowns, whose merchants were princes, whose traders were the most renowned on earth?

Nevertheless, her profits and her earnings will be dedicated to the LORD; they will not be stored up or hoarded but her profits will go to those who live in the LORD's presence, for abundant food and choice clothing.

No longer do they drink wine accompanied by singing; even beer tastes bitter to those who drink it.

by the feet of the oppressed who trample it, by the footsteps of the needy.

"But your dead will live; their bodies will rise. Those who live in the dust will wake up and shout for joy! For your dew is like the dew of dawn, and the earth will give birth to the dead.

Has the LORD struck them down, just as he struck down those who struck them? Or have they been killed, just as their killers were killed?

When its branches are dry, they are broken off, and women come and kindle fires with them, since this is a people who show no consideration. That is why the One who made them shows them no compassion; the One who created them shows them no mercy.

Furthermore, at that time, a great trumpet will be sounded, and those who were perishing in the land of Assyria and those who had been expelled to the land of Egypt will come and worship the LORD on his holy mountain at Jerusalem.

Look! The LORD has one who is mighty and strong, like a hailstorm and destructive tempest, like a storm of mighty, overflowing water and he will give rest to the land.

and a spirit of justice to the one who sits in judgment, a source of strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate.

To whom will he teach knowledge, and to whom will he explain the message? To children just weaned from milk? To those just taken from the breast?

to whom he said, "This is the resting place, so give rest to the weary"' and, "This is the place of repose" - but they would not listen.

"Therefore hear the message from the LORD, you scoffers who rule this people that are in Jerusalem.

Does he who plows for sowing plow all the time? Does he keep on breaking up and harrowing his field?

This insight also comes from the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, who is distinguished in practical advice and magnificent in sound wisdom."

"And this entire vision has become for you like the words of a sealed book. When people give it to someone who can read, and say, "Read this, please,' he answers, "I cannot, because it is sealed.'

Or when they give the book to someone who cannot read, and say, "Read this, please,' he answers, "I don't know how to read.'"

"How terrible it will be for you who go to great depths to hide your plans from the LORD, you whose deeds have been done in the dark, and who say, "Who can see us? Who has recognized us?'

He has turned the tables on you as if the potter were thought to be like heat. Can what is made say of the one who made it, "He did not make me?' Or can what is formed say of the ones who formed it, "He has no skill?'

For the ruthless will vanish, and mockers will disappear, and all who have an eye for evil will be cut down

those who make a person appear to be the offender in a lawsuit, who set a trap for someone who is making his defense in court, and push aside the innocent with specious arguments.

"Therefore, this is what the LORD, who redeemed Abraham, says concerning the house of Jacob: "No longer will Jacob be ashamed; no longer will his face grow pale.

Moreover, those who go astray in spirit will gain understanding, and those who complain will accept instruction.'"

"Oh, you stubborn children," declares the LORD, "who carry out plans but they are not mine, and who make alliances but not by my Spirit, piling sin upon sin.

There is only loathsome destruction through a people that cannot benefit them, who bring neither help nor profit, but only shame and disgrace."

to Egypt, which gives help that is worthless and useless. Therefore I call her, "Rahab, who just sits still.'"

"Nevertheless, the LORD will wait so he can be gracious to you; and thus he will rise up to show you mercy. For the LORD is a God of justice. How blessed are all those who wait for him."

Indeed, you people who live in Zion and in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. How gracious the LORD will be to you at the sound of your cry! As soon as he hears it, he will answer you.

"How terrible it will be for those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in the chariot, because there are so many, and in charioteers, because they are so strong but do not look to the Holy One of Israel or seek the LORD!

Yet he is also wise and can bring disaster; he does not take back his words, but will rise up against the house of those who practice evil and against anyone who assists people who work iniquity.

The Egyptians are men, not God, and their horses are physical, not spirit. When the LORD stretches out his hand, anyone who assists will stumble, and the one who is helped will fall; and they will all perish together."

Turn back to him, yes to him whom your people have so greatly betrayed, you people of Israel.

Then the eyes of those who can see won't turn away, and the ears of those who can hear will listen.

The hearts of reckless people will understand sound judgment, and the tongues of those who stammer will be ready to speak clearly.