For the LORD chastised me, and took me by the hand, and warned me, saying unto me that I should not walk in the ways of this people. He said moreover,

“You are not to say, ‘It is a conspiracy!’
In regard to all that this people call a conspiracy,
And you are not to fear what they fear or be in dread of it.

He will become a sanctuary, but a stone that makes a person trip, and a rock that makes one stumble -- to the two houses of Israel. He will become a trap and a snare to the residents of Jerusalem.

And I will wait for Jehovah, that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him.

Behold, I and the children that Jehovah hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel, from Jehovah of hosts, who dwelleth in mount Zion.

And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits and unto the wizards, that chirp and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? on behalf of the living'should they seek unto the dead?

To the law and to the testimony! If not, let them say after this manner, 'That there is no dawn to it.'

And they shall pass through it, sore distressed and hungry; and it shall come to pass that, when they shall be hungry, they shall fret themselves, and curse by their king and by their God, and turn their faces upward:

or they'll look toward the earth, but they'll see only distress and darkness, the gloom that comes from anguish, and then they'll be thrown into total darkness."

But there shall be no gloom to her that was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali; but in the latter time hath he made it glorious, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.

The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.

Shalt thou multiply the people, and not increase the joy also? They shall rejoice before thee even as men make merry in harvest, and as men that have gotten the victory, when they deal the spoil.

Now as to the yoke that has been his burden, and the bar laid on his shoulder the rod of his oppressor you have broken it as on the day of Midian.

For every boot of him that is shod for the tumult, and the garment rolled in blood, shall be for burning, fuel for fire.

Of the increase of his government and of peace there shall be no end, on the throne of David, and on his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from that time on, even forever. The zeal of Yahweh of Armies will perform this.

And all the people shall know, even Ephraim and the inhabitant of Samaria, that say in pride and in stoutness of heart,

that the Syrians shall lay hold upon them before, and the Philistines behind, and so devour Israel with open mouth. After all this, the wrath of the Lord shall not cease, but yet his hand shall be stretched out still.

Yet the people have not turned unto him that smote them, neither have they sought Jehovah of hosts.

The elder and the honorable man, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail.

For they that lead this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed.

"For wickedness has burned like a blaze that consumes briers and thorns; it sets thickets of the forest on fire, and skyward they swirl in a column of smoke.

[The tribe of] Manasseh devours [the tribe of his brother] Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh,
And together they are against Judah (the southern kingdom, the house of David).
In spite of all this, God’s anger does not turn away
But His hand is still stretched out [in judgment].

Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and to the writers that write perverseness;

to turn aside the needy from justice, and to rob the poor of my people of their right, that widows may be their spoil, and that they may make the fatherless their prey!

What will ye do in time of the visitation and destruction, that shall come from far? To whom will ye run for help? Or to whom will ye give your honour, that he may keep it?

That ye come not among the prisoners, or lie among the dead? After all this shall not the wrath of the LORD cease, but yet shall his hand be stretched out still.

Wo to Assur the rod of mine anger, and that rod in their hand, my wrath.

For I shall send him among those hypocritical people, among the people that have deserved my disfavour shall I send him: that he may utterly rob them, spoil them, and tread them down like the mire in the street.

Yet it is not Assyria’s intention [to do My will],
Nor does it plan so in its heart,
But instead it is its purpose to destroy
And to cut off many nations.

Will not the fate of Calno be like that of Carchemish? is not Hamath as Arpad? is not Samaria as Damascus?

Wherefore it shall come to pass, that, when the Lord hath performed his whole work upon mount Zion and on Jerusalem, I will punish the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his high looks.

For he hath said, By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom; for I have understanding: and I have removed the bounds of the peoples, and have robbed their treasures, and like a valiant man I have brought down them that sit on thrones :

and my hand hath found as a nest the riches of the peoples; and as one gathereth eggs that are forsaken, have I gathered all the earth: and there was none that moved the wing, or that opened the mouth, or chirped.

Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith? shall the saw magnify itself against him that wieldeth it? as if a rod should wield them that lift it up, or as if a staff should lift up him that is not wood.

But the light of Israel shall be that fire, and his Sanctuary shall be the flame, and it shall kindle, and burn up his thorns and briers in one day.

And the remnant of the trees of his forest shall be few, so that a child may write them.

And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and they that are escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more again lean upon him that smote them, but shall lean upon Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.

For though thy people, O Israel, be as the sand of the sea, yet shall but the remnant of them only convert unto him. Perfect is the judgment of him that floweth in righteousness,

For a full end, and that determined, will the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, make in the midst of all the earth.

Therefore thus saith the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, O my people that dwellest in Zion, be not afraid of the Assyrian, though he smite thee with the rod, and lift up his staff against thee, after the manner of Egypt.

And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall depart from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed by reason of fatness.

yet shall he remain at Nob that day. After that, shall he lift up his hand against the mount Zion, against the hill of Jerusalem.

The Lord's spirit will rest on him -- a spirit that gives extraordinary wisdom, a spirit that provides the ability to execute plans, a spirit that produces absolute loyalty to the Lord.

Then shall the wolf dwell with the lamb, and the Leopard shall lie down by the goat. Bullocks, Lions and cattle shall keep company together, so that a little child shall rule them.

And it shall come to pass in that day, that the root of Jesse, that standeth for an ensign of the peoples, unto him shall the nations seek; and his resting-place shall be glorious.

And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord will set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, that shall remain, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.

The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and they that vex Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim.

but they both together shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the West: and spoil them together that dwell toward the East. The Edomites and the Moabites shall let their hands fall, and the Ammonites shall be obedient unto them.

And the Lord will make the tongue of the Egyptian sea completely dry; and with his burning wind his hand will be stretched out over the River, and it will be parted into seven streams, so that men may go over it with dry feet.

So shall there be a highway for the remnant of his people who shall be left out of Assyria, - Like as it was to Israel, in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt!

Thou shalt say, therefore, in that day, I will praise thee, O Yahweh! Though thou hast been angry with me, Thine anger turneth back. And thou dost comfort me.

You will draw water joyfully from the wells of salvation. And you will say at that time:

And ye shall say in that day, Praise Yahweh. Gall upon his Name, Make known among the peoples, his doings, - Bring to remembrance that, exalted, is his Name!

Lift up! Sing unto the LORD, for he hath done excellently, and that is known throughout all the world.

Make shrill thy voice and sing out thou inhabitress of Zion, - That great in the midst of thee, is the Holy One of Israel.

A message that Amoz's son Isaiah received about Babylon:

Upon a bare mountain, lift ye up a standard, Raise high the voice to them, Wave the hand, That they may enter the doors of nobles.

I have commanded my hallowed ones, I have also called my mighty men for mine anger, them that rejoice in my highness.

A sound of tumult on the mountains,
Like that of many people!
A sound of the uproar of kingdoms,
Of nations gathered together!
The Lord of hosts is mustering the army for battle.

and they shall be terrified: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them, they shall writhe as a woman that travaileth; they shall be amazed one at another, their faces shall be as flames.

I will make men so small in number, that a man will be harder to get than gold, even the best gold of Ophir.

Moreover, I will so shake the heaven, that the earth shall remove out of her place. Thus shall it go with Babylon in the wrath of the LORD of Hosts in the day of his fearful indignation.

And it shall be - Like a gazelle that is chased, And like a sheep with none to lift it up, - Each, to his own people, will they turn, And, each, to his own land, will they flee:

All that are found shall be thrust through; and every one that is in league with them shall fall by the sword.

And Babylon, that glory of kingdoms and beauty of the Chaldeans' honor, shall be destroyed, even as God destroyed Sodom and Gomorra.

The people shall take them, and carry them home to their own land. And the house of Israel shall have them in possession for servants and maidens in the land of the LORD. They shall take those prisoners, whose captives they had been afore: and rule those that had oppressed them.

And it shall come to pass in the day that Jehovah shall give thee rest from thy sorrow and from thy trouble and from the hard bondage wherein thou wast made to serve,

that thou shalt take up this taunt over the king of Babylon, and shalt say: - How hath ceased the oppressor! Ceased the exactress!

He that smote the peoples in wrath with a relentless stroke, he that ruled the nations in anger, is persecuted unsparingly.

Yea even the fir trees and Cedars of Lebanon rejoice at thy fall, saying, 'Now that thou art laid down, there come no more up to destroy us.'

that they may all - one after another - sing and speak unto thee. Art thou wounded also as we? Art thou become like unto us?

How art thou fallen from heaven, Lucifer, son of the morning! Thou art cut down to the ground, that didst prostrate the nations!

Yet, thou, didst say in thy heart - The heavens, will I ascend, Above the stars of GOD, will I lift up my throne, - That I may sit in the Mount of Assembly In the Recesses of the North:

Yet dare I say, that thou shalt be brought down to the deep of hell.

They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee; they shall consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that shook kingdoms;

that made the world as a wilderness, and overthrew the cities thereof; that dismissed not his prisoners homewards?

but thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, covered with the slain those thrust through with the sword, that go down to the stones of the pit: like a carcase trodden under foot.

and art not buried with them. Even because that thou hast wasted thy land, and destroyed thy people. For the generation of the wicked shall be without honour, forever.

Prepare ye slaughter for his children, because of the iniquity of their fathers; that they may not rise up and possess the earth, nor fill the face of the world with cities.

"I will turn her into a place that is overrun with wild animals and covered with pools of stagnant water. I will get rid of her, just as one sweeps away dirt with a broom," says the Lord who commands armies.

The LORD of the Heavenly Armies has sworn: "Surely as I have planned, that's what she will become; and just as I have determined, so will it remain

That I will break in pieces the Assyrian in my land, Yea upon my mountains, will I tread him underfoot, - So shall be removed from off them his yoke, And his burden, from off their shoulder shall be removed.

This, is the purpose that is purposed upon all the earth, - And, this, the hand outstretched over all the nations;

For Jehovah of Hosts hath purposed, And who doth make void? And His hand that is stretched out, Who doth turn it back?'

In the year that King Ahaz died, came this oracle: -

Do not rejoice, Philistia, any of thee, In that the rod of him that smote thee, is broken, - For, out of the root of the serpent, shall come forth, a viper, And his fruit be a fiery dragon that flieth.

What, then, shall one answer the messengers of a nation? That Yahweh, hath founded Zion, And in her, shall seek refuge the oppressed of his people.

Heshbon and Elealeh cried, that their voice was heard unto Jahaz. The worthies also of Moab bleared and cried for very sorrow of their minds.

For this cause, the savings they had made and that which they had stored, Over the torrent-bed of the willows, shall they bear them.

For the waters of Dimon are full of blood, for I will lay yet more upon Dimon: a lion upon them that are escaped of Moab, and upon that which remaineth of the land.

Send the Lord of the world a lamb, from the rock that lieth toward the desert, unto the hill of the daughter Zion.

Yet shall it be that - Like wandering birds from a nest cast forth, Shall be the daughters of Moab, at the fords of Amen.

Gather your counsel, come together in judgment; cover us with your shadow in the midday, as the night doth: hide the chased, and betray not them that are fled.

We have heard of the pride of Moab, that he is very proud; even of his arrogancy, and his pride, and his wrath; his boastings are nought.

Therefore shall, Moab, howl for, Moab, All that belong to her, shall wail, - For the ruins of Kir-hareseth, shall they moan out Utterly stricken!

For Heshbon’s terraced vineyards
and the grapevines of Sibmah have withered.
The rulers of the nations
have trampled its choice vines
that reached as far as Jazer
and spread to the desert.
Their shoots spread out
and reached the Dead Sea.

Mirth and cheer was gone out of the field and vineyards, insomuch that no man was glad nor sung. There went no treader into the winepress, their merry cheer was laid down.

And it shall be - When it is seen that Moab hath laboured in vain on the high place, He shall enter into his holy place to pray, and shall not prevail,

This is the word that Jehovah spake concerning Moab in time past.

And now Jehovah speaketh saying, Within three years, as the years of a hired servant, and the glory of Moab shall be brought to nothing, with all that great multitude; and the remnant shall be small, few, of no account.