that they may be trodden under the feet of the simple, and with the steps of the poor.

If favor is shown to the wicked, they don't learn righteousness; even in a land of uprightness they act perversely and do not perceive the majesty of the LORD.

O Yahweh though thy hand be lifted up, - yet do they not see, Would they might see - and turn pale at a peoples zeal, - Surely, the fire of thine enemies, must consume them!

They are dead, they shall not live; deceased, they shall not rise: for thou hast visited and destroyed them, and made all memory of them to perish.

O Yahweh! in distress, they sought thee, - They poured out a whispered prayer, when thy chastening was upon them.

Thy dead, shall come to life again, My dead body, they shall arise, - Awake and shout for joy, ye that dwell in the dust For, a dew of light, is thy dew, And, earth, to the shades shall give birth.

My passion is over: if the thorns were fighting against me, I would make an attack on them, and they would be burned up together.

“Or let him (Israel) cling to My strength and rely on My protection [My stronghold],
Let him make peace with Me,
Let him make peace with Me.”

In coming times, shall Jacob strike root, Israel, shall blossom and bud, - Then shall they fill the face of the world with fruit.

Hath he smitten them as he smote those that smote them? or are they slain according to the slaughter of them that were slain by them?

Therefore by this is the iniquity of Jacob covered, And this is all the fruit -- To take away his sin, in His setting all the stones of an altar, As chalkstones beaten in pieces, They rise not -- shrines and images.

For the fortified city stands desolate, a settlement abandoned and forsaken like the desert; calves graze there, and there they lie down and strip bare its branches.

When the cut-off boughs thereof are dry, they shall be broken to pieces, Women, coming, are kindling it! For it is not a people of understanding, For this cause, Will he that made him, not have compassion upon him, And, he that formed him, will shew him no favour.

And it shall come to pass in that day, That there shall be a blowing with a great horn, Then shall come in Such as have wandered in the land of Assyria, And such as have been outcasts in the land of Egypt, - And they shall bow themselves down unto Yahweh In the holy mountain, In Jerusalem.

But as for these, With wine, do they reel, and With strong drink, do they stagger, - Priest and prophet, reel with strong drink They are swallowed up through wine They stagger through strong drink, They reel in prophetic vision, They totter in pronouncing judgment.

Whom then shall such one teach knowledge? And whom shall he make to understand the thing that he heareth? For they are as ignorant as young children, which are weeded from suck or taken from the breasts.

Indeed, they will hear meaningless gibberish, senseless babbling, a syllable here, a syllable there.

To whom he said - This, is the rest - give ye rest to the weary, and This, is the quietness, - But they were unwilling to hear.

So the word of Yahweh must be to them - Precept upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, A little here, a little there, - That they may go and fall backward and be torn and snared and captured.

Because you have said, We have made death our friend, and with the underworld we have made an agreement; when the overflowing waters come through they will not come near us; for we are looking to false words for help, taking cover in what is untrue:

Whenever they come through they will overtake you; for they will come through morning after morning, by day and by night: and the news will be nothing but fear.

For the bed is too short to stretch out on,
And the blanket is too narrow to wrap around oneself [and likewise all their preparations are inadequate].

And the multitude of all nations that fight against Ariel shall be as a dream seen by night; even so shall all they be that make war against it, and strongholds to overcome it.

Stand ye stock still and stare, Besmear your eyes and be blind, - They are drunken but not with wine, They reel, but not with strong drink;

The entire vision will be to you like the words of a sealed book, which when they give it to the one who is literate, saying, “Please read this,” he will say, “I cannot, for it is sealed.”

And they give the book to him that cannot read, saying, Read this, I pray thee; and he saith, I cannot read.

Wherefore My Lord hath said, - Because this people, hath drawn near with their mouth, And with their lips, have honoured me, But their heart, have they moved far from me, And so their reverence of me hath become A commandment of men in which they have been schooled,

Alas! for them who would fain have been too deep for Yahweh by giving secret counsel, - and therefore in the dark, have been their doings, and they have said Who can see us? and - Who can understand us?

For the terrible one is brought to nought, and the scoffer ceaseth, and all they that watch for iniquity are cut off;

Leading a man into sin by a word, and laying snares for him doing justice in the gate, and they will turn aside the just one by vanity.

For, when he seeth his children the work of my hands, in his midst, They will hallow my Name, - Yea they will hallow the Holy One of Jacob, And the God of Israel, will they regard with awe.

Then will they who erred in spirit comprehend, And the murmurers, accept instruction.

Alas! for sons who are rebellious, Declareth Yahweh. Executing a purpose, but not from me, And pouring out a libation but not from my spirit, - That they may add sin to sin:

They go down into Egypt, and ask me no counsel; to seek help at he power of Pharaoh, and comfort in the shadow of the Egyptians.

Every one, hath felt ashamed of a people that could not serve them, - Neither with help, nor with service, But they are a shame, yea even a reproach.

The Oracle on the Beasts of the South, - Through a land of distress and oppression - Lioness and lion coming therefrom, Viper and fiery flying serpent, They would carry, on the shoulders of young asses their wealth And on the humps of camels their treasures Unto a people that cannot serve them.

But, the Egyptians, with vanity and emptiness, would help, - Therefore have I proclaimed concerning this, Insolent, they sit still!

For they are an uncontrolled people, false-hearted, who will not give ear to the teaching of the Lord:

They dare say to the Prophets, "See not," and unto them that be clear of judgment, "Tell us of nothing for to come, but speak friendly words unto us, and preach us false things.

but ye said, No, for we will flee upon horses; therefore shall ye flee: and, We will ride upon the swift; therefore shall they that pursue you be swift.

And, therefore, will Yahweh wait, That he may grant you favour, And, therefore, will he lift himself up, That he may show you compassion, - For A God of justice, is, Yahweh, How happy all they who are waiting for him

You will desecrate your silver-plated idols and your gold-plated images. You will throw them away as if they were a menstrual rag, saying to them, "Get out!"

And the light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be seven times greater, as the light of seven days, in the day when the Lord puts oil on the wounds of his people, and makes them well from the blows they have undergone.

Behold, the name of Jehovah coming from far off, burning his wrath, and its lifting up heavy: his lips they were full of anger, and his tongue as consuming fire:

You will have a song, as in the night when a holy feast is kept; and you will be glad in heart, as when they go with music of the pipe to the mountain of the Lord, the Rock of Israel.

And the Lord will send out the sound of his great voice, and they will see his arm stretched out, with the heat of his wrath, and the flame of a burning fire; with a cloud-burst, and storm, and a rain of ice.

Alas! for them who are going down to Egypt for help, On horses, would rely, - And have trusted - In chariots - because they are many, and In horsemen, because they are very bold, But have not looked unto the Holy One of Israel, And onto Yahweh, have not sought.

Though he is wise, and able to send evil, and his purpose will not be changed; but he will go against the house of the evil-doers, and against those to whom they are looking for help.

Now the Egyptians are men, and not God; and their horses flesh, and not spirit: and when Jehovah shall stretch out his hand, both he that helpeth shall stumble, and he that is helped shall fall, and they all shall be consumed together.

For in that day they shall cast away every man his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which your own hands have made unto you for a sin.

"Then Assyria will fall by a sword that is not from human beings only a sword not wielded by mortal beings will devour them. They will flee from the sword, and their young men will be put to forced labor.

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.

Lo, for righteousness doth a king reign, As to princes, for judgment they rule.

The foolish man will no longer be named noble, and they will not say of the false man that he is a man of honour.

Furthermore, the crimes of bad people are evil; and they devise wicked schemes, destroying the poor with lying words, even when needy people plead a just cause.

But those who are decent plan noble things, and by noble deeds they stand."

They shall smite upon the breasts for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine.

Alas! thou plunderer when, thou, hadst not been plundered, And thou traitor when they had not betrayed thee: When thou hast ceased plundering, thou shalt be plundered, When thou hast left off betraying, they shall betray thee.

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

And your spoil shall be gathered like the gathering of the caterpillar: as the running of locusts shall they run upon it.

Lo! their heroes, have cried out openly, - the messengers of peace, in bitterness, continue weeping they say :

The streets are waste, there walketh no man therein; the covenant is broken, the cities are despised; they are not regarded,

So shall peoples, become, as the burnings of lime, - As thorns lopped off, with fire, shall they be burned.

The sinners at Zion are afraid, and a sudden fearfulness is come upon the hypocrites. "What is he among us," say they, "that will dwell by that consuming fire? Which of us may abide that everlasting heat?"

He who walks righteously and speaks with sincerity,
He who rejects unjust gain
And shakes his hands so that they hold no bribe;
He who stops his ears from hearing about bloodshed
And shuts his eyes from looking upon evil;

Of a king, in his beauty, shall thine eyes have vision: They shall see a land that stretcheth afar.

Loosed are thy ropes, - They cannot strengthen the socket of their mast They have not unfurled a sail Now, can be apportioned spoil, in abundance, The lame, have captured prey!

The jackals will be there, and her great ones will be gone; they will say, There is no longer a kingdom there, and all her chiefs will have come to an end.

Thorns shall grow in their palaces, nettles and thistles in their strongholds; that the dragons may have their pleasure therein, and that they may be a court for Ostriches.

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

Seek ye from the book of Jehovah, and read: One of these was not wanting; a female her companion they missed not: for my mouth it commanded, and his spirit it collected them.

Yea he himself, hath cast for them a lot, And his own hand, hath given to them a portion by line, - Unto times age-abiding, shall they possess it, To generation after generation, shall they dwell therein.

They joy from the wilderness and dry place, And rejoice doth the desert, and flourish as the rose,

It shall, blossom abundantly, and exult, Yea with exultation and shouts of triumph, The glory of Lebanon, hath been given to it, The splendour of Carmel, and Sharon, - They, shall see the glory of Yahweh, the splendour of our God.

And the mirage shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in the habitation of wild dogs, where they lay down, shall be grass with reeds and rushes.

"A highway will be there yes, there and people will call it "The Holy Way'. As for unclean people, they will not journey on it, but it will be for whomever is traveling on that Way not even fools will get lost.

No lion will be there, or any cruel beast; they will not be seen there; but those for whom the Lord has given a price,

And the ransomed of Jehovah shall return, and come to Zion with singing; and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads: they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

The king of Assyria sent his chief adviser from Lachish to King Hezekiah in Jerusalem, along with a large army. The chief adviser stood at the conduit of the upper pool which is located on the road to the field where they wash and dry cloth.

I have said sayest thou - they are only words of the lips - Counsel and might have I for the war, - Now, upon whom dost thou trust, that thou hast rebelled against me?

But Rabshakeh said - Is it unto thy lord and unto thee, that my lord hath sent me, to speak these things? Is it not concerning the men who are tarrying upon the wall, that they may eat and drink what cometh from them, with you?

Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad, Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? If indeed they had only delivered Samaria, out of my hand!

Who are they, among all the gods of these countries that have delivered their country out of my hand? That, Yahweh, should deliver, Jerusalem, out of my hand!

But they held their peace, and answered him not a word, - for the command of the king, it was, saying, - Ye must not answer him.

Then came in - Eliakim son of Hilkiah who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah son of Asaph, the recorder, unto Hezekiah, with rent clothes, - and they told him the words of Rabshakeh.

and they said unto him, Thus, saith Hezekiah, A day of distress and rebuke and reviling, is this day, - For children are come to the birth, and, strength, is there none to bring forth.

For thou knowest well how the kings of Assyria have handled all the lands that they have subverted; and hopest thou to escape?

and have put their gods in the fire, - for, no-gods, were they, but the work of the hands of men wood and stone and so they destroyed them.

And their inhabitants, being powerless, were overthrown and put to shame - They became - Grass of the field and Young herbage, Grass on housetops, and Seed parched before it came up.

for out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and out of mount Zion they that escape: the zeal of Jehovah of hosts shall do this.

Therefore thus sayeth the LORD, concerning the king of the Assyrians, 'He shall not come into the city, and shall shoot no arrow into it, there shall no shield hurt it, neither shall they grave about it.

Then went forth the messenger of Yahweh, and smote - in the camp of the Assyrians - a hundred and eighty-five thousand, - and when men arose early in the morning, lo! they were all, dead bodies!

And it came to pass, as he was bowing down in the house of Nisroch his god, that, Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons, smote him with the sword, howbeit, they, escaped into the land of Ararat, - and, Esarhaddon his son, reigned, in his stead.

"My Lord is against them, yet they live, and among all of them who live is his spirit. Now you have restored me to health, so let me live!

For, hades, cannot praise thee Nor, death, celebrate thee, - They who go down to the pit cannot wait for thy faithfulness.

The living yes the living they thank you, just as I am doing today; fathers will tell their children about your faithfulness.

And Isaiah will say, They shall lift up round cakes of figs, and rub over the burning sore, and he shall live.

Then came Isaiah the prophet, unto King Hezekiah, - and said unto him - What said these men? and whence came they unto thee? And Hezekiah said, From a land far away, came they unto me, from Babylon!

And he said, What have they seen in thy house? Then said Hezekiah, - All that is in my house, have they seen, there is nothing which I shewed them not among my treasures.

"The days are surely coming when everything in your palace and all that your ancestors have stored up to this day will be carried off to Babylon. They will come in, and nothing will be left,' says the LORD.