"Bring a plan, make a decision! Provide some shade in the middle of the day! Hide the fugitives! Do not betray the one who tries to escape!

I will bring forth descendants from Jacob, and from Judah people to take possession of my mountains. My chosen ones will take possession of the land; my servants will live there.

O Lord, our God, masters other than you have ruled us, but we praise your name alone.

Night and day it will burn; its smoke will ascend continually. Generation after generation it will be a wasteland and no one will ever pass through it again.

Those who live uprightly enter a place of peace; they rest on their beds.

Just a handful of archers, the warriors of Kedar, will be left." Indeed, the Lord God of Israel has spoken.

Isaiah ordered, "Let them take a fig cake and apply it to the ulcerated sore and he will get well."

For the bed is too short to stretch out on, and the blanket is too narrow to wrap around oneself.

If anyone dares to challenge you, it will not be my doing! Whoever tries to challenge you will be defeated.

But these people are looted and plundered; all of them are trapped in pits and held captive in prisons. They were carried away as loot with no one to rescue them; they were carried away as plunder, and no one says, "Bring that back!"

You counted the houses in Jerusalem, and demolished houses so you could have material to reinforce the wall.

I will remove you from your office; you will be thrown down from your position.

These people continually and blatantly offend me as they sacrifice in their sacred orchards and burn incense on brick altars.

Hezekiah took the letter from the messengers and read it. Then Hezekiah went up to the Lord's temple and spread it out before the Lord.

They will surrender their stronghold because of fear; their officers will be afraid of the Lord's battle flag." This is what the Lord says -- the one whose fire is in Zion, whose firepot is in Jerusalem.

The Lord is about to deliver me, and we will celebrate with music for the rest of our lives in the Lord's temple."

Eyes will no longer be blind and ears will be attentive.

Please let the Moabite fugitives live among you. Hide them from the destroyer!" Certainly the one who applies pressure will cease, the destroyer will come to an end, those who trample will disappear from the earth.

I will make your pinnacles out of gems, your gates out of beryl, and your outer wall out of beautiful stones.

so the king of Assyria will lead away the captives of Egypt and the exiles of Cush, both young and old. They will be in undergarments and barefoot, with the buttocks exposed; the Egyptians will be publicly humiliated.

You who are far away, listen to what I have done! You who are close by, recognize my strength!"

The fishermen will mourn and lament, all those who cast a fishhook into the river, and those who spread out a net on the water's surface will grieve.

Indeed, the Lord knocks down those who live in a high place, he brings down an elevated town; he brings it down to the ground, he throws it down to the dust.

Your very best valleys were full of chariots; horsemen confidently took their positions at the gate.

Does a farmer just keep on plowing at planting time? Does he keep breaking up and harrowing his ground?

Those who stray morally will gain understanding; those who complain will acquire insight.

I will put your robe on him, tie your belt around him, and transfer your authority to him. He will become a protector of the residents of Jerusalem and of the people of Judah.

The Elamites picked up the quiver, and came with chariots and horsemen; the men of Kir prepared the shield.

For a moth will eat away at them like clothes; a clothes moth will devour them like wool. But the vindication I provide will be permanent; the deliverance I give will last."

For I looked forward to the day of vengeance, and then payback time arrived.

For this reason my stomach churns; cramps overwhelm me like the contractions of a woman in labor. I am disturbed by what I hear, horrified by what I see.

Whenever it sweeps by, it will overtake you; indeed, every morning it will sweep by, it will come through during the day and the night." When this announcement is understood, it will cause nothing but terror.

The land of Judah will humiliate Egypt. Everyone who hears about Judah will be afraid because of what the Lord who commands armies is planning to do to them.

Each one says, 'Come on, I'll get some wine! Let's guzzle some beer! Tomorrow will be just like today! We'll have everything we want!'

Through your messengers you taunted the sovereign master, 'With my many chariots I climbed up the high mountains, the slopes of Lebanon. I cut down its tall cedars and its best evergreens. I invaded its most remote regions, its thickest woods.

For tyrants will disappear, those who taunt will vanish, and all those who love to do wrong will be eliminated --

In their streets they wear sackcloth; on their roofs and in their town squares all of them wail, they fall down weeping.

What right do you have to be here? What relatives do you have buried here? Why do you chisel out a tomb for yourself here? He chisels out his burial site in an elevated place, he carves out his tomb on a cliff.

"This is what Hezekiah says: 'This is a day of distress, insults, and humiliation, as when a baby is ready to leave the birth canal, but the mother lacks the strength to push it through.

Isaiah replied, "This is your sign from the Lord confirming that the Lord will do what he has said:

The sound of battle comes from the city; the sound comes from the temple! It is the sound of the Lord paying back his enemies.

Indeed, the cries of distress echo throughout Moabite territory; their wailing can be heard in Eglaim and Beer Elim.

I was angry because of their sinful greed; I attacked them and angrily rejected them, yet they remained disobedient and stubborn.

Turn aside from the way, stray off the path. Remove from our presence the Holy One of Israel."

I, the Lord, protect it; I water it regularly. I guard it night and day, so no one can harm it.

When the chief adviser heard the king of Assyria had departed from Lachish, he left and went to Libnah, where the king was campaigning.

Though his officials are in Zoan and his messengers arrive at Hanes,

Whom have you taunted and hurled insults at? At whom have you shouted and looked so arrogantly? At the Holy One of Israel!

You made a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the old pool -- but you did not trust in the one who made it; you did not depend on the one who formed it long ago!

Some of your very own descendants whom you father will be taken away and will be made eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.'"

Moab will spread out its hands in the middle of it, just as a swimmer spreads his hands to swim; the Lord will bring down Moab's pride as it spreads its hands.

Isaiah said to them, "Tell your master this: 'This is what the Lord says: "Don't be afraid because of the things you have heard -- these insults the king of Assyria's servants have hurled against me.

Their descendants will be known among the nations, their offspring among the peoples. All who see them will recognize that the Lord has blessed them."

Look, they are like straw, which the fire burns up; they cannot rescue themselves from the heat of the flames. There are no coals to warm them, no firelight to enjoy.

I was angry at my people; I defiled my special possession and handed them over to you. You showed them no mercy; you even placed a very heavy burden on old people.

along with the plants by the mouth of the river. All the cultivated land near the river will turn to dust and be blown away.

Yet the children born during your time of bereavement will say within your hearing, 'This place is too cramped for us, make room for us so we can live here.'

I will hand Egypt over to a harsh master; a powerful king will rule over them," says the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies.

All your leaders ran away together -- they fled to a distant place; all your refugees were captured together -- they were captured without a single arrow being shot.

My heart palpitates, I shake in fear; the twilight I desired has brought me terror.

Who handed Jacob over to the robber? Who handed Israel over to the looters? Was it not the Lord, against whom we sinned? They refused to follow his commands; they disobeyed his law.

Those who trust in idols will turn back and be utterly humiliated, those who say to metal images, 'You are our gods.'"

Look, all of them are nothing, their accomplishments are nonexistent; their metal images lack any real substance.

The oxen and donkeys used in plowing will eat seasoned feed winnowed with a shovel and pitchfork.

With the rest of it he makes a god, his idol; he bows down to it and worships it. He prays to it, saying, 'Rescue me, for you are my god!'

I will lay siege to you on all sides; I will besiege you with troops; I will raise siege works against you.

the one who made his majestic power available to Moses, who divided the water before them, gaining for himself a lasting reputation,

They will be called, "The Holy People, the Ones Protected by the Lord." You will be called, "Sought After, City Not Abandoned."

We grope along the wall like the blind, we grope like those who cannot see; we stumble at noontime as if it were evening. Though others are strong, we are like dead men.

I have stirred up one out of the north and he advances, one from the eastern horizon who prays in my name. He steps on rulers as if they were clay, like a potter treading the clay.

For before the harvest, when the bud has sprouted, and the ripening fruit appears, he will cut off the unproductive shoots with pruning knives; he will prune the tendrils.

you will be blessed, you who plant seed by all the banks of the streams, you who let your ox and donkey graze.

To make a contribution one selects wood that will not rot; he then seeks a skilled craftsman to make an idol that will not fall over.

"Please, Lord. Remember how I have served you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion, and how I have carried out your will." Then Hezekiah wept bitterly.

When you see this, you will be happy, and you will be revived. The Lord will reveal his power to his servants and his anger to his enemies.

The withering flower, its beautiful splendor, situated at the head of a rich valley, will be like an early fig before harvest -- as soon as someone notices it, he grabs it and swallows it.

We were pregnant, we strained, we gave birth, as it were, to wind. We cannot produce deliverance on the earth; people to populate the world are not born.

Look, the sovereign Lord helps me. Who dares to condemn me? Look, all of them will wear out like clothes; a moth will eat away at them.

When you performed awesome deeds that took us by surprise, you came down, and the mountains trembled before you.

This is what will happen throughout the earth, among the nations. It will be like when they beat an olive tree, and just a few olives are left at the end of the harvest.

This is what your sovereign master, the Lord your God, says: "Look, I have removed from your hand the cup of intoxicating wine, the goblet full of my anger. You will no longer have to drink it.

The day you begin cultivating, you do what you can to make it grow; the morning you begin planting, you do what you can to make it sprout. Yet the harvest will disappear in the day of disease and incurable pain.

So I defiled your holy princes, and handed Jacob over to destruction, and subjected Israel to humiliating abuse."

Hezekiah welcomed them and showed them his storehouse with its silver, gold, spices, and high-quality olive oil, as well as his whole armory and everything in his treasuries. Hezekiah showed them everything in his palace and in his whole kingdom.

For you will nurse from her satisfying breasts and be nourished; you will feed with joy from her milk-filled breasts.

When you summon her for divorce, you prosecute her; he drives her away with his strong wind in the day of the east wind.

I will do this so people will observe and recognize, so they will pay attention and understand that the Lord's power has accomplished this, and that the Holy One of Israel has brought it into being."

and rescue you and this city from the king of Assyria. I will shield this city."'"

You saw the many breaks in the walls of the city of David; you stored up water in the lower pool.

Those who put their hope in Cush and took pride in Egypt will be afraid and embarrassed.

O sovereign master, your decrees can give men life; may years of life be restored to me. Restore my health and preserve my life.'

At that time their fortified cities will be like the abandoned summits of the Amorites, which they abandoned because of the Israelites; there will be desolation.

A man uses it to make a fire; he takes some of it and warms himself. Yes, he kindles a fire and bakes bread. Then he makes a god and worships it; he makes an idol and bows down to it.

says our protector -- the Lord who commands armies is his name, the Holy One of Israel.

I looked, but there was no one to help; I was shocked because there was no one offering support. So my right arm accomplished deliverance; my raging anger drove me on.

All of you, gather together and listen! Who among them announced these things? The Lord's ally will carry out his desire against Babylon; he will exert his power against the Babylonians.

"Take the harp, go through the city, forgotten prostitute! Play it well, play lots of songs, so you'll be noticed!"

So this is what the Lord says about the king of Assyria: 'He will not enter this city, nor will he shoot an arrow here. He will not attack it with his shielded warriors, nor will he build siege works against it.

For the fortified city is left alone; it is a deserted settlement and abandoned like the desert. Calves graze there; they lie down there and eat its branches bare.

At the end of seventy years the Lord will revive Tyre. She will start making money again by selling her services to all the earth's kingdoms.

Perhaps the Lord your God will hear all these things the chief adviser has spoken on behalf of his master, the king of Assyria, who sent him to taunt the living God. When the Lord your God hears, perhaps he will punish him for the things he has said. So pray for this remnant that remains.'"

For this is what the sovereign Lord says: "In the beginning my people went to live temporarily in Egypt; Assyria oppressed them for no good reason.

I announced them to you beforehand; before they happened, I predicted them for you, so you could never say, 'My image did these things, my idol, my cast image, decreed them.'

Indeed, all the tables are covered with vomit; no place is untouched.

Let your private parts be exposed! Your genitals will be on display! I will get revenge; I will not have pity on anyone,"

Remind me of what happened! Let's debate! You, prove to me that you are right!

"At that time Jacob's splendor will be greatly diminished, and he will become skin and bones.

You did not bring me lambs for your burnt offerings; you did not honor me with your sacrifices. I did not burden you with offerings; I did not make you weary by demanding incense.

Look, my servants will shout for joy as happiness fills their hearts! But you will cry out as sorrow fills your hearts; you will wail because your spirits will be crushed.

He will wind you up tightly into a ball and throw you into a wide, open land. There you will die, and there with you will be your impressive chariots, which bring disgrace to the house of your master.

No one thinks to himself, nor do they comprehend or understand and say to themselves: 'I burned half of it in the fire -- yes, I baked bread over the coals; I roasted meat and ate it. With the rest of it should I make a disgusting idol? Should I bow down to dry wood?'

Who forms a god and casts an idol that will prove worthless?

When its branches get brittle, they break; women come and use them for kindling. For these people lack understanding, therefore the one who made them has no compassion on them; the one who formed them has no mercy on them.

Look, ambassadors cry out in the streets; messengers sent to make peace weep bitterly.

For the waters of Nimrim are gone; the grass is dried up, the vegetation has disappeared, and there are no plants.

Travel to Tarshish! Wail, you residents of the coast!

They do not thirst as he leads them through dry regions; he makes water flow out of a rock for them; he splits open a rock and water flows out.'

My dwelling place is removed and taken away from me like a shepherd's tent. I rolled up my life like a weaver rolls cloth; from the loom he cuts me off. You turn day into night and end my life.

Instead the Lord will rule there as our mighty king. Rivers and wide streams will flow through it; no war galley will enter; no large ships will sail through.

Your gates will remain open at all times; they will not be shut during the day or at night, so that the wealth of nations may be delivered, with their kings leading the way.

In a year's time you carefree ones will shake with fear, for the grape harvest will fail, and the fruit harvest will not arrive.

One thousand will scurry at the battle cry of one enemy soldier; at the battle cry of five enemy soldiers you will all run away, until the remaining few are as isolated as a flagpole on a mountaintop or a signal flag on a hill."

So this sin will become your downfall. You will be like a high wall that bulges and cracks and is ready to collapse; it crumbles suddenly, in a flash.

A deceiver's methods are evil; he dreams up evil plans to ruin the poor with lies, even when the needy are in the right.

I will make the trees on the mountains and hills wither up; I will dry up all their vegetation. I will turn streams into islands, and dry up pools of water.

He is the one who reduces rulers to nothing; he makes the earth's leaders insignificant.

Assyria will fall by a sword, but not one human-made; a sword not made by humankind will destroy them. They will run away from this sword and their young men will be forced to do hard labor.

Disaster will overtake you; you will not know how to charm it away. Destruction will fall on you; you will not be able to appease it. Calamity will strike you suddenly, before you recognize it.

From whom does he receive directions? Who teaches him the correct way to do things, or imparts knowledge to him, or instructs him in skillful design?

They help one another; one says to the other, 'Be strong!'

All the descendants of Israel will be vindicated by the Lord and will boast in him.

I am not angry. I wish I could confront some thorns and briers! Then I would march against them for battle; I would set them all on fire,

"This will be your reminder that I have spoken the truth: This year you will eat what grows wild, and next year what grows on its own. But the year after that you will plant seed and harvest crops; you will plant vines and consume their produce.

Like an animal that goes down into a valley to graze, so the Spirit of the Lord granted them rest. In this way you guided your people, gaining for yourself an honored reputation.

who says to the deep sea, 'Be dry! I will dry up your sea currents,'

You see many things, but don't comprehend; their ears are open, but do not hear."

The watchman replies, "Morning is coming, but then night. If you want to ask, ask; come back again."

Highways are empty, there are no travelers. Treaties are broken, witnesses are despised, human life is treated with disrespect.

They will not work in vain, or give birth to children that will experience disaster. For the Lord will bless their children and their descendants.

Look, a time is coming when everything in your palace and the things your ancestors have accumulated to this day will be carried away to Babylon; nothing will be left,' says the Lord.

Mourn over the land of my people, which is overgrown with thorns and briers, and over all the once-happy houses in the city filled with revelry.

The chief adviser said to them, "Tell Hezekiah: 'This is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: "What is your source of confidence?

The nations will be burned to ashes; like thorn bushes that have been cut down, they will be set on fire.

Those who empty out gold from a purse and weigh out silver on the scale hire a metalsmith, who makes it into a god. They then bow down and worship it.

His God instructs him; he teaches him the principles of agriculture.

His battle cry overwhelms like a flooding river that reaches one's neck. He shakes the nations in a sieve that isolates the chaff; he puts a bit into the mouth of the nations and leads them to destruction.

Yes, your land lies in ruins; it is desolate and devastated. But now you will be too small to hold your residents, and those who devoured you will be far away.

Wail, you large ships, for your fortress is destroyed!

The Lord who commands armies planned it -- to dishonor the pride that comes from all her beauty, to humiliate all the dignitaries of the earth.

And I will choose some of them as priests and Levites," says the Lord.

Who decreed this from the beginning, so we could know? Who announced it ahead of time, so we could say, 'He's correct'? Indeed, none of them decreed it! Indeed, none of them announced it! Indeed, no one heard you say anything!

for your sins and your ancestors' sins," says the Lord. "Because they burned incense on the mountains and offended me on the hills, I will punish them in full measure."

Look, I have decreed: I will not keep silent, but will pay them back; I will pay them back exactly what they deserve,

Now, O Lord our God, rescue us from his power, so all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone are the Lord."

Their slain will be left unburied, their corpses will stink; the hills will soak up their blood.

Danger awaits one who says to his father, "What in the world are you fathering?" and to his mother, "What in the world are you bringing forth?"

Your plunder disappears as if locusts were eating it; they swarm over it like locusts!

They removed the defenses of Judah. At that time you looked for the weapons in the House of the Forest.

But Pharaoh's protection will bring you nothing but shame, and the safety of Egypt's protective shade nothing but humiliation.

For they flee from the swords -- from the drawn sword and from the battle-ready bow and from the severity of the battle.

The coastlands see and are afraid; the whole earth trembles; they approach and come.

Her profits and earnings will be set apart for the Lord. They will not be stored up or accumulated, for her profits will be given to those who live in the Lord's presence and will be used to purchase large quantities of food and beautiful clothes.

You Israelites! Return to the one against whom you have so blatantly rebelled!

Indeed, they live in the holy city; they trust in the God of Israel, whose name is the Lord who commands armies.

As when fire ignites dry wood, or fire makes water boil, let your adversaries know who you are, and may the nations shake at your presence!

Certainly you must have heard! Long ago I worked it out, in ancient times I planned it, and now I am bringing it to pass. The plan is this: Fortified cities will crash into heaps of ruins.

Their webs cannot be used for clothing; they cannot cover themselves with what they make. Their deeds are sinful; they commit violent crimes.

Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Indeed, did any gods rescue Samaria from my power?

Your children faint; they lie at the head of every street like an antelope in a snare. They are left in a stupor by the Lord's anger, by the battle cry of your God.

Whom are you worried about? Whom do you fear, that you would act so deceitfully and not remember me or think about me? Because I have been silent for so long, you are not afraid of me.

Owls will make nests and lay eggs there; they will hatch them and protect them. Yes, hawks will gather there, each with its mate.

Her nobles will have nothing left to call a kingdom and all her officials will disappear.

Then you will think to yourself, 'Who bore these children for me? I was bereaved and barren, dismissed and divorced. Who raised these children? Look, I was left all alone; where did these children come from?'"

Listen to me, you stubborn people, you who distance yourself from doing what is right.

When the news reaches Egypt, they will be shaken by what has happened to Tyre.

No lions will be there, no ferocious wild animals will be on it -- they will not be found there. Those delivered from bondage will travel on it,

"For a remnant will leave Jerusalem; survivors will come out of Mount Zion. The intense devotion of the Lord who commands armies will accomplish this.

You conceive straw, you give birth to chaff; your breath is a fire that destroys you.

Because you rage against me and the uproar you create has reached my ears, I will put my hook in your nose, and my bridle between your lips, and I will lead you back the way you came."

But where, oh where, are your wise men? Let them tell you, let them find out what the Lord who commands armies has planned for Egypt.

On every high, elevated hill you prepare your bed; you go up there to offer sacrifices.

Among the smooth stones of the stream are the idols you love; they, they are the object of your devotion. You pour out liquid offerings to them, you make an offering. Because of these things I will seek vengeance.

Hezekiah said to Isaiah, "The Lord's word which you have announced is appropriate." Then he thought, "For there will be peace and stability during my lifetime."

"Tell King Hezekiah of Judah this: 'Don't let your God in whom you trust mislead you when he says, "Jerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria."

Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord,

They howl in the streets because of what happened to the wine; all joy turns to sorrow; celebrations disappear from the earth.

Eliakim son of Hilkiah, the palace supervisor, accompanied by Shebna the scribe and Joah son of Asaph, the secretary, went to Hezekiah with their clothes torn in grief and reported to him what the chief adviser had said.

The mind that acts rashly will possess discernment and the tongue that stutters will speak with ease and clarity.

I can clothe the sky in darkness; I can cover it with sackcloth."

I first decreed to Zion, 'Look, here's what will happen!' I sent a herald to Jerusalem.

He will give discernment to the one who makes judicial decisions, and strength to those who defend the city from attackers.

So he poured out his fierce anger on them, along with the devastation of war. Its flames encircled them, but they did not realize it; it burned against them, but they did notice.

I will denounce your so-called righteousness and your deeds, but they will not help you.

Your children hurry back, while those who destroyed and devastated you depart.

I will make all my mountains into a road; I will construct my roadways."

It will be like a dream, a night vision. There will be a horde from all the nations that fight against Ariel, those who attack her and her stronghold and besiege her.

When King Hezekiah's servants came to Isaiah,

At whom are you laughing? At whom are you opening your mouth and sticking out your tongue? You are the children of rebels, the offspring of liars,

Because of the long distance you must travel, you get tired, but you do not say, 'I give up.' You get renewed energy, so you don't collapse.

We all growl like bears, we coo mournfully like doves; we wait for deliverance, but there is none, for salvation, but it is far from us.

Look, I will take control of his mind; he will receive a report and return to his own land. I will cut him down with a sword in his own land."'"

Your mind will recall the terror you experienced, and you will ask yourselves, "Where is the scribe? Where is the one who weighs the money? Where is the one who counts the towers?"

We existed from ancient times, but you did not rule over them, they were not your subjects.

The father of your nation sinned; your spokesmen rebelled against me.

Though at this time your ropes are slack, the mast is not secured, and the sail is not unfurled, at that time you will divide up a great quantity of loot; even the lame will drag off plunder.

Be ashamed, O Sidon, for the sea says this, O fortress of the sea: "I have not gone into labor or given birth; I have not raised young men or brought up young women."

Their residents are powerless; they are terrified and ashamed. They are as short-lived as plants in the field or green vegetation. They are as short-lived as grass on the rooftops when it is scorched by the east wind.

I look, but there is no one, among them there is no one who serves as an adviser, that I might ask questions and receive answers.

"I thought, 'I will no longer see the Lord in the land of the living, I will no longer look on humankind with the inhabitants of the world.

Where are the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, and the kings of Lair, Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?'"

Indeed, they are barely planted; yes, they are barely sown; yes, they barely take root in the earth, and then he blows on them, causing them to dry up, and the wind carries them away like straw.

The one who suffers will soon be released; he will not die in prison, he will not go hungry.

Don't allow him to rest until he reestablishes Jerusalem, until he makes Jerusalem the pride of the earth.

I cry out until morning; like a lion he shatters all my bones; you turn day into night and end my life.

Lord, do not be too angry! Do not hold our sins against us continually! Take a good look at your people, at all of us!

They have burned the gods of the nations, for they are not really gods, but only the product of human hands manufactured from wood and stone. That is why the Assyrians could destroy them.

Not even Lebanon could supply enough firewood for a sacrifice; its wild animals would not provide enough burnt offerings.

all will be put to shame because of a nation that cannot help them, who cannot give them aid or help, but only shame and disgrace."

Look, the Lord will throw you far away, you mere man! He will wrap you up tightly.

I dug wells and drank water. With the soles of my feet I dried up all the rivers of Egypt.'

the one who led chariots and horses to destruction, together with a mighty army. They fell down, never to rise again; they were extinguished, put out like a burning wick:

Pay attention, Lord, and hear! Open your eyes, Lord, and observe! Listen to this entire message Sennacherib sent and how he taunts the living God!

I will put it into the hand of your tormentors who said to you, 'Lie down, so we can walk over you.' You made your back like the ground, and like the street for those who walked over you."

They no longer sing and drink wine; the beer tastes bitter to those who drink it.

They will all be ashamed and embarrassed; those who fashion idols will all be humiliated.

So listen to this, oppressed one, who is drunk, but not from wine!

At that time those who live on this coast will say, 'Look what has happened to our source of hope to whom we fled for help, expecting to be rescued from the king of Assyria! How can we escape now?'"

It is trampled underfoot by the feet of the oppressed, by the soles of the poor."

These double disasters confronted you. But who feels sorry for you? Destruction and devastation, famine and sword. But who consoles you?

This is the message the Lord previously announced about Moab.

The chief adviser then stood there and called out loudly in the Judahite dialect, "Listen to the message of the great king, the king of Assyria.

The fortified city (along with the very tops of your walls) he will knock down, he will bring it down, he will throw it down to the dusty ground.

Half of it he burns in the fire -- over that half he cooks meat; he roasts a meal and fills himself. Yes, he warms himself and says, 'Ah! I am warm as I look at the fire.'

Hezekiah is misleading you when he says, "The Lord will rescue us." Has any of the gods of the nations rescued his land from the power of the king of Assyria?

You say, 'No, we will flee on horses,' so you will indeed flee. You say, 'We will ride on fast horses,' so your pursuers will be fast.

There was no one to lead her among all the children she bore; there was no one to take her by the hand among all the children she raised.

Your claim to have a strategy and military strength is just empty talk. In whom are you trusting, that you would dare to rebel against me?

It is true, Lord, that the kings of Assyria have destroyed all the nations and their lands.

Mourn over the field, over the delightful fields and the fruitful vine!

Now make a deal with my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses, provided you can find enough riders for them.

I will shield this city and rescue it for the sake of my reputation and because of my promise to David my servant."'"

You will no longer see a defiant people whose language you do not comprehend, whose derisive speech you do not understand.

When the Moabites plead with all their might at their high places, and enter their temples to pray, their prayers will be ineffective!

Our holy temple, our pride and joy, the place where our ancestors praised you, has been burned with fire; all our prized possessions have been destroyed.

Look, you are nothing, and your accomplishments are nonexistent; the one who chooses to worship you is disgusting.

The Lord stretched out his hand over the sea, he shook kingdoms; he gave the order to destroy Canaan's fortresses.

They will all be left for the birds of the hills and the wild animals; the birds will eat them during the summer, and all the wild animals will eat them during the winter.

When you will look for your opponents, you will not find them; your enemies will be reduced to absolutely nothing.

You have made the nation larger, O Lord, you have made the nation larger and revealed your splendor, you have extended all the borders of the land.

Isaiah said to Hezekiah, "Listen to the word of the Lord who commands armies:

Grain is crushed, though one certainly does not thresh it forever. The wheel of one's wagon rolls over it, but his horses do not crush it.

For a short time your special nation possessed a land, but then our adversaries knocked down your holy sanctuary.

Don't listen to Hezekiah!' For this is what the king of Assyria says, 'Send me a token of your submission and surrender to me. Then each of you may eat from his own vine and fig tree and drink water from his own cistern,

I trampled nations in my anger, I made them drunk in my rage, I splashed their blood on the ground."

Certainly you have heard how the kings of Assyria have annihilated all lands. Do you really think you will be rescued?

Your chosen cities have become a desert; Zion has become a desert, Jerusalem is a desolate ruin.

They will disappoint you, those you have so faithfully dealt with since your youth. Each strays off in his own direction, leaving no one to rescue you."

Isaiah the prophet visited King Hezekiah and asked him, "What did these men say? Where do they come from?" Hezekiah replied, "They come from the distant land of Babylon."

I have given orders to my chosen soldiers; I have summoned the warriors through whom I will vent my anger, my boasting, arrogant ones.

What can I say? He has decreed and acted. I will walk slowly all my years because I am overcome with grief.

Now they come into being, not in the past; before today you did not hear about them, so you could not say, 'Yes, I know about them.'

Egypt will not be able to do a thing, head or tail, shoots and stalk.

They put it on their shoulder and carry it; they put it in its place and it just stands there; it does not move from its place. Even when someone cries out to it, it does not reply; it does not deliver him from his distress.

He assigns them their allotment; he measures out their assigned place. They will live there permanently; they will settle in it through successive generations.

until I come and take you to a land just like your own -- a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards.

Perhaps you will tell me, 'We are trusting in the Lord our God.' But Hezekiah is the one who eliminated his high places and altars and then told the people of Judah and Jerusalem, 'You must worship at this altar.'

I, I have spoken -- yes, I have summoned him; I lead him and he will succeed.

Together they bend low and kneel down; they are unable to rescue the images; they themselves head off into captivity.

I know where you live and everything you do and how you rage against me.

who led them through the deep water? Like a horse running on flat land they did not stumble.

The nations run away when they hear a loud noise; the nations scatter when you spring into action!

Look, all his associates will be put to shame; the craftsmen are mere humans. Let them all assemble and take their stand! They will panic and be put to shame.

Hezekiah said, "What is the confirming sign that I will go up to the Lord's temple?"

Don't let Hezekiah talk you into trusting in the Lord by saying, "The Lord will certainly rescue us; this city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria."

The Lord told Isaiah,

Hezekiah prayed before the Lord:

Your descendants would have been as numerous as sand, and your children like its granules. Their name would not have been cut off and eliminated from my presence.

Even if the forest is destroyed and the city is annihilated,

The city is left in ruins; the gate is reduced to rubble.

Is this really your boisterous city whose origins are in the distant past, and whose feet led her to a distant land to reside?

Certainly you will not refuse one of my master's minor officials and trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen.

He pursues them and passes by unharmed; he advances with great speed.

But those who harvest the grain will eat it, and will praise the Lord. Those who pick the grapes will drink the wine in the courts of my holy sanctuary."

In light of all this, how can you still hold back, Lord? How can you be silent and continue to humiliate us?

Furthermore it was by the command of the Lord that I marched up against this land to destroy it. The Lord told me, 'March up against this land and destroy it!'"'"

They were silent and did not respond, for the king had ordered, "Don't respond to him."

For at that time everyone will get rid of the silver and gold idols your hands sinfully made.

Has the Lord struck down Israel like he did their oppressors? Has Israel been killed like their enemies?

Who among all the gods of these lands have rescued their lands from my power? So how can the Lord rescue Jerusalem from my power?'"

This is what the king says: 'Don't let Hezekiah mislead you, for he is not able to rescue you!

Isaiah asked, "What have they seen in your palace?" Hezekiah replied, "They have seen everything in my palace. I showed them everything in my treasuries."

He will go back the way he came -- he will not enter this city,' says the Lord.