And to whom a word of Jehovah hath been, Rule on rule, rule on rule, line on line, line on line, A little here, a little there, So that they go and have stumbled backward, And been broken, and snared, and captured.

Therefore hear the word of the LORD, you scornful men, that rule this people who are in Jerusalem.

For this cause says the Lord God, See, I am placing in Zion as a base, a stone, a tested stone, an angle-stone which is certain and of great value: and he who has faith will not give way.

So now, do not mock, or your chains will become heavier! For I have heard a message about decreed destruction, from the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, against the entire land.

Does he who plows to sow plow continually? Does he keep turning the soil and breaking the clods?

This also cometh forth from Jehovah of hosts, who is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in wisdom.

You will be brought down, and will speak out of the ground. Your speech will mumble out of the dust. Your voice will be as of one who has a familiar spirit, out of the ground, and your speech will whisper out of the dust.

Judgment will come from the Lord who commands armies, accompanied by thunder, earthquake, and a loud noise, by a strong gale, a windstorm, and a consuming flame of fire.

And all the nations making war on Ariel, and all those who are fighting against her and shutting her in with their towers, will be like a dream, like a vision of the night.

It will be like a hungry one who dreams he is eating,
then wakes and is still hungry;
and like a thirsty one who dreams he is drinking,
then wakes and is still thirsty, longing for water.
So it will be for all the many nations
who go to battle against Mount Zion.

And the vision of all this has become to you like the words of a book which is shut, which men give to one who has knowledge of writing, saying, Make clear to us what is in the book: and he says, I am not able to, for the book is shut:

And if the document is given to one who cannot read and he is asked to read it, he will say, “I can’t read.”

Woe unto them that hide deep, far from Jehovah, their counsel! And their works are in the dark, and they say, Who seeth us? and who knoweth us?

You are turning things upside down! Is the wet earth the same to you as the one who is forming it? will the thing made say of him who made it, He made me not: or the thing formed say of him who gave it form, He has no knowledge?

For the cruel one has come to nothing; and those who make sport of the Lord are gone; and those who are watching to do evil are cut off:

Who give help to a man in a wrong cause, and who put a net for the feet of him who gives decisions in the public place, taking away a man's right without cause.

Therefore thus saith Jehovah who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob: Jacob shall not now be ashamed, neither shall his face now be pale;

For when they see their children, whom I will produce among them, they will honor my name. They will honor the Holy One of Jacob; they will respect the God of Israel.

Those whose hearts were turned away from him will get knowledge, and those who made an outcry against him will give attention to his teaching.

Woe to the rebellious children, saith Jehovah, who take counsel, but not of me, and who make leagues, but not by my Spirit, that they may heap sin upon sin;

who walk to go down into Egypt, and have not asked of my mouth, to take refuge under the protection of Pharaoh, and trust in the shadow of Egypt!

For they have all come with offerings to a people of no use to them, in whom is no help or profit, but only shame and a bad name.

The word about the Beasts of the South. Through the land of trouble and grief, the land of the she-lion and the voice of the lion, of the snake and the burning winged snake, they take their wealth on the backs of young asses, and their stores on camels, to a people in whom is no profit.

For the Egyptians shall help in vain, and to no purpose: therefore have I called her, Rahab who sits still.

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

who say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things; speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits;

Saying, No, for we will go in flight on horses; so you will certainly go in flight: and, We will go on the backs of quick-running beasts; so those who go after you will be quick-footed.

Therefore the Lord is waiting to show you mercy,
and is rising up to show you compassion,
for the Lord is a just God.
All who wait patiently for Him are happy.

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.

Ye shall have a song, as in the night when a feast is sanctified; and joy of heart, as of one who goeth with a pipe to come unto the mountain of Jehovah, to the Rock of Israel.

For through the voice of the LORD shall the Assyrian be beaten down, who smote with a rod.

Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help, and depend on horses, and confide in chariots because they are many, and in horsemen because they are very strong; and who look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek Jehovah!

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.

For the Egyptians are men, and not God; and their horses are flesh, and not spirit: and when the Lord's hand is stretched out, the helper and he who is helped will come down together.

For thus said Jehovah unto me: 'As growl doth the lion and the young lion over his prey, Called against whom is a multitude of shepherds, From their voice he is not affrighted, And from their noise he is not humbled; So come down doth Jehovah of Hosts To war on mount Zion, and on her height.

Just as birds hover over a nest, so the Lord who commands armies will protect Jerusalem. He will protect and deliver it; as he passes over he will rescue it.

Turn unto him from whom ye have deeply revolted, ye children of Israel;

And to his rock from fear he passeth on, And affrighted by the ensign have been his princes -- an affirmation of Jehovah, Who hath a light in Zion, And who hath a furnace in Jerusalem!

Each [one of them] will be like a hiding place from the wind
And a shelter from the storm,
Like streams of water in a dry land,
Like the shade of a huge rock in a parched and weary land [to those who turn to them].

And the eyes of those who see will not be shut, and those who have hearing will give ear to the word.

And the heart of the rash shall understand knowledge, and the tongue of those who stutter shall be ready to speak plainly.

For the foolish man will say foolish things, having evil thoughts in his heart, working what is unclean, and talking falsely about the Lord, to keep food from him who is in need of it, and water from him whose soul is desiring it.

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

Give ear to my voice, you women who are living in comfort; give attention to my words, you daughters who have no fear of danger.

In not much more than a year, you, who are not looking for evil, will be troubled: for the produce of the vine-gardens will be cut off, and there will be no getting in of the grapes.

Be shaking with fear, you women who are living in comfort; be troubled, you who have no fear of danger: take off your robes and put on clothing of grief.

Happy are you who are planting seed by all the waters, and sending out the ox and the ass.

Ho! you who make waste those who did not make you waste; acting falsely to those who were not false to you. When you have come to an end of wasting, you will be made waste, and after your false acts, they will do the same to you.

He is your constant source of stability; he abundantly provides safety and great wisdom; he gives all this to those who fear him.

See, the men of war are sorrowing outside the town: those who came looking for peace are weeping bitterly.

Desolated have been highways, Ceased hath he who passeth along the path, He hath broken covenant, He hath despised enemies, He hath not esteemed a man.

[You who are] far away, hear what I have done; and [you who are] near, know my might!"

Sinners are afraid in Zion; trembling has seized [the] godless: "Who of us can {live} [with] devouring fire? Who of us can {live} [with] everlasting consuming hearths?"

He who walks [in] righteousness and speaks uprightness, who rejects [the] gain of extortion, who {refuses} bribe, who stops up his ears from hearing {bloodshed} and shuts his eyes from seeing evil.

This is the person who will live in a secure place; he will find safety in the rocky, mountain strongholds; he will have food and a constant supply of water.

Your {mind} will meditate [on the] terror: "Where [is the] one who counted? Where [is the] one who weighed out? Where [is the] one who counted the towers?"

You will no longer see the barbarians,
a people whose speech is difficult to comprehend—
who stammer in a language that is not understood.

For Yahweh [is] our judge; Yahweh [is] our lawgiver. Yahweh [is] our king; he [is the one who] will save us.

And no inhabitant will say, "I am sick"; the people who live in it, [their] iniquity [will be] taken away.

For my sword hath been sated in the heavens, - Lo! upon Edom, shall it descend, Even on the people whom I have devoted to justice.

Night and day it shall not be quenched; its smoke shall go up forever. From generation to generation it shall be in ruins; forever and ever there will be no one who passes through her.

Of her nobles who should proclaim the kingdom, none are there; and all her princes shall be nought.

Upon whomsoever the lot falleth, or to whom he dealeth it with the line: those shall possess the inheritance from generation to generation, and dwell therein.

It shall blossom abundantly, and it shall rejoice indeed with rejoicing and exulting. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon. {They are the ones who} shall see the glory of Yahweh, the majesty of our God.

Say to those who are hasty of heart, "Be strong; you must not fear! Look! your God will come [with] vengeance, [with] {divine retribution}. He {is the one who} will come and save you."

And a highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called the way of holiness. [The] unclean shall not travel through it, but it [is] for them, he who walks [on the] way; and fools shall not wander about.

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,

Even those whom he has made free, will come back again; they will come with songs to Zion; on their heads will be eternal joy; delight and joy will be theirs, and sorrow and sounds of grief will be gone for ever.

And Eliakim son of Hilkiah, who {was in charge of the palace}, came out to him, and Shebna the secretary, and Joah son of Asaph, the reminder.

I said, 'Only a word of lips! {War has power and a plan}!' Now, in whom do you trust, that you have rebelled against me?

Look, you trust in the staff of this broken reed, on Egypt, which [if] a man leans on it, goes into his hand and bores through it! Such [is] Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to all those who trust in him.

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.'

And have I now come to send destruction on this land without the Lord's authority? It was the Lord himself who said to me, Go up against this land and make it waste.

And Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to Rabshakeh, "Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, for we can understand [it], and you must not speak to us in Judean in the {hearing} of the people who [are] on the wall."

But Rabshakeh said, "Has my master sent me to speak these words to your masters and you? [Was it] not for the people who sit on the wall, to eat their dung and drink their urine with you?"

Where is the God of Hamath and Arpad? Where is the God of Sepharvaim? And who was able to defend Samaria out of my hand?

Who [are there] among all the gods of these countries who have saved their land from my hand, that Yahweh should save Jerusalem from my hand?" '"

Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, who [was] over the {palace}, Shebna the secretary, and Joah son of Asaph, the reminder, came to Hezekiah [with] torn garments and told him the words of Rabshakeh.

And he sent Eliakim, who [was] {in charge of} the palace, and Shebna the secretary, and the elders of the priests {covered} with sackcloth to Isaiah son of Amoz, the prophet.

Maybe Yahweh your God heard [the] words of Rabshakeh whom the king of Assyria, his master, has sent to taunt [the] living God, and he will rebuke the words that Yahweh your God hears. And you must lift up a prayer for the benefit of the remnant that is found.'"

"You shall say this to Hezekiah, king of Judah: '[Do] not let your God in whom you trust in him deceive you by saying, "Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria."

Did the gods of the nations that my {predecessors} destroyed deliver them--Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the sons of Eden who [were] in Telassar?

And Hezekiah took the letter from the hands of those who had come with it; and after reading it, Hezekiah went up to the house of the Lord, opening the letter there before the Lord,

"Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel {who is enthroned on} the cherubim, you [are] the one, God by yourself, of all the kingdoms of the earth; you are the one who made the heavens and the earth.

Incline thine ear, O Jehovah, and hear; open, Jehovah, thine eyes, and see; and hear all the words of Sennacherib, who hath sent to reproach the living God.

who hath sent - to reproach a Living God. Of a truth, O Yahweh, - the kings of Assyria have devoted to destruction all the countries, and their land;

Then Amoz's son Isaiah sent this message to Hezekiah: "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says, to whom you prayed concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria.

Whom have you taunted and blasphemed, and against whom have you raised up [your] voice and lifted your eyes upward? To the holy one of Israel!

And those of Judah who are still living will again take root in the earth, and give fruit.

For from Jerusalem those who have been kept safe will go out, and those who are still living will go out of Mount Zion: by the fixed purpose of the Lord of armies this will be done.

I was the one who said, "I must go in the quiet of my days; I am summoned through the gates of Sheol [for] the rest of my years."

I said, I shall not see Jah, Jah in the land of the living. With those who dwell where all has ceased to be, I shall behold man no more.

What am I to say? seeing that it is he who has done it: all my time of sleeping I am turning from side to side without rest.

"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!

Look! Bitterness was bitter to me for peace. And you were the one who loved my life from [the] pit of destruction, for you have cast all my sins behind your back.

For Sheol cannot praise you; death [cannot] praise you. Those who go down [to the] pit cannot hope for your faithfulness.

“It is the living who give thanks to You, as I do today;
A father tells his sons about Your faithfulness.

Then the prophet Isaiah came to King Hezekiah and asked him, “Where did these men come from and what did they say to you?”

Hezekiah replied, “They came to me from a distant country, from Babylon.”

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

'And some of your sons who go out from you, whom you fathered, shall be taken, and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.'"