'Us' in the Bible

If the Lord of hostsHad not left us a few survivors,We would be like Sodom,We would be like Gomorrah.

“Come now, and let us reason together,”Says the Lord.“Though your sins are like scarlet,They shall be as white as snow;Though they are red like crimson,They shall be like wool.

And many peoples shall come and say,“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,To the house (temple) of the God of Jacob;That He may teach us His waysAnd that we may walk in His paths.”For the law will go out from ZionAnd the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord.

And in that day seven women will take hold of one man, saying, “We will eat our own food and wear [and provide] our own clothes; only let us be called by your name; take away our shame [of being unmarried].”

Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

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

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

“Then it will sweep 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.

“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).”

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.

“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.’

“All of them will respond [tauntingly] and say to you,‘You have become as weak as we are.You have become like us.

[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].

At evening time, now look, sudden terror!Before morning the Assyrians are no more.This is the portion (fate) of those who plunder us,And the lot of those who pillage us.

So the inhabitants of this coastland [the Israelites and their neighbors] will say in that day, ‘Look what has happened to those in whom we hoped and trusted and to whom we fled for help to be spared from the king of Assyria! But we, how will we escape [captivity and exile]?’”

Instead, there is joy and jubilation,Killing of oxen and slaughtering of sheep,Eating meat and drinking wine, saying,“Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we may die.”

It will be said in that day,“Indeed, this is our God for whom we have waited that He would save us.This is the Lord for whom we have waited;Let us shout for joy and rejoice in His salvation.”

Lord, You will establish peace for us,Since You have also performed for us all that we have done.

O Lord our God, other masters besides You have ruled over us;But through You alone we confess Your name.

Because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death,And with Sheol (the place of the dead) we have made an agreement,When the overwhelming scourge passes by, it will not reach us,For we have made lies our refuge and we have concealed ourselves in deception.”

Woe (judgment is coming) to those who [try to] deeply hide their plans from the Lord,Whose deeds are done in a dark place,And who say, “Who sees us?” or “Who knows us?”

Who say to the seers, “You must not see visions from God”;And to the prophets, “You must not prophesy to us what is right!Speak to us pleasant things and smooth words,Prophesy [deceitful] illusions [that we will enjoy].

“Get out of the [true] way, turn aside from the path [of God],Stop bothering us with the Holy One of Israel.”

Until the Spirit is poured out upon us from on high,And the wilderness becomes a fertile field,And the fertile field is valued as a forest.

O Lord, be gracious to us; we have waited [expectantly] for You.Be the arm of Your servants every morning [that is, their strength and their defense],Our salvation also in the time of trouble.

The sinners in Zion are terrified;Trembling has seized the godless.[They cry] “Who among us can live with the consuming fire?Who among us can live with everlasting burning?”

But there the mighty and magnificent Lord will be for usA place of broad rivers and streams,Where no oar-driven boat will go,And on which no mighty and stately ship will pass.

For the Lord is our Judge,The Lord is our Ruler,The Lord is our King;He will save us.

Then Eliakim and Shebna and Joah said to the Rabshakeh, “Please, speak to your servants in Aramaic, because we understand it; and do not speak to us in Judean (Hebrew) in the hearing of the people who are [stationed] on the wall.”

nor let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord, saying, “The Lord will most certainly rescue us; this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.”

Beware that Hezekiah does not mislead you by saying, “The Lord will rescue us.” Has any one of the gods of the nations [ever] rescued his land from the hand of the king of Assyria?

Now, O Lord our God, save us from his hand so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know and fully realize that You alone, Lord, are God.”

Then said Hezekiah to Isaiah, “The word of the Lord which you have spoken is good.” For he thought, “There will be peace and faithfulness [to God’s promises to us] in my days.”

“Listen to Me in silence, you islands and coastlands,And let the nations gain their strength;Let them come near, then let them speak;Let us come together for judgment [and decide the issue between us concerning the enemy from the east].

Let them bring forward [their evidence] and tell us what is going to happen.Regarding the former events, tell what they were,That we may consider them and know their outcome;Or announce to us the things that are going to come.

Tell us the things that are to come afterward,That we may know that you are gods;Indeed, you should do something good or do evil, that we may be afraid and fear [you] together [as we observe the miracle].

All the nations have gathered togetherSo that the peoples may be assembled.Who among them (the idolaters) can predict this [that Judah would return from captivity]And proclaim to us the former events?Let them provide their witnesses so that they may be justified,Or let them hear and say [in acknowledgement], “It is the truth.”

“Remind Me [of your merits with a thorough report], let us plead and argue our case together;State your position, that you may be proved right.

He who declares Me in the right is near;Who will [dare to] contend with Me?Let us stand up to each other;Who is My adversary?Let him approach Me.

Who has believed [confidently trusted in, relied on, and adhered to] our message [of salvation]?And to whom [if not us] has the arm and infinite power of the Lord been revealed?

But He was wounded for our transgressions,He was crushed for our wickedness [our sin, our injustice, our wrongdoing];The punishment [required] for our well-being fell on Him,And by His stripes (wounds) we are healed.

All of us like sheep have gone astray,We have turned, each one, to his own way;But the Lord has caused the wickedness of us all [our sin, our injustice, our wrongdoing]To fall on Him [instead of us].

Therefore justice is far from us,And righteousness does not overtake us.We [expectantly] hope for light, but only see darkness;We hope for gleam of light, but we walk in darkness and gloom.

We all groan and growl like bears,And coo sadly like doves;We hope for justice, but there is none,For salvation, but it is far from us.

For our transgressions are multiplied before You [O Lord],And our sins testify against us;For our transgressions are with us,And we know and recognize our wickedness [our sin, our injustice, our wrongdoing]:

I will tell of the lovingkindnesses of the Lord, and the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord,According to all that the Lord has done for us,And His great goodness toward the house of Israel,Which He has shown them according to His compassionAnd according to the abundance of His lovingkindnesses.

For [most certainly] You are our Father, even though Abraham [our ancestor] does not know usAnd Israel does not acknowledge us.You, O Lord, are [still] our Father,Our Redeemer from everlasting is Your name.

O Lord, why do You cause us to stray from Your waysAnd harden our heart from fearing You [with reverence and awe]?Return for Your servants’ sake, the tribes of Your heritage.

For we all have become like one who is [ceremonially] unclean [like a leper],And all our deeds of righteousness are like filthy rags;We all wither and decay like a leaf,And our wickedness [our sin, our injustice, our wrongdoing], like the wind, takes us away [carrying us far from God’s favor, toward destruction].

There is no one who calls on Your name,Who awakens and causes himself to take hold of You;For You have hidden Your face from usAnd have handed us over to the [consuming and destructive] power of our wickedness [our sin, our injustice, our wrongdoing].

Considering these [tragedies], will You restrain Yourself, O Lord [and not help us]?Will You keep silent and humiliate and oppress us beyond measure?