“When you come to appear before Me,
Who requires this of you, this trampling of My [temple] courts [by your sinful feet]?

“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.

Your rulers are rebels
And companions of thieves;
Everyone loves bribes
And chases after gifts.
They do not defend the fatherless,
Nor does the widow’s cause come before them [instead they delay or turn a deaf ear].

Now it will come to pass that
In the last days
The mountain of the house of the Lord
Will be [firmly] established as the highest of the mountains,
And will be exalted above the hills;
And all the nations will stream to it.

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 ways
And that we may walk in His paths.”
For the law will go out from Zion
And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

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

Now it will come to pass that instead of the sweet fragrance of spices there will be [the stench of] rottenness;
Instead of a belt, a rope;
Instead of well-set hair, baldness;
Instead of fine clothes, a robe of sackcloth;
And branding [of captives by the scorching heat] instead of beauty.

“I will turn it into a wasteland;
It will not be pruned or cultivated,
But briars and thorns will come up.
I will also command the clouds not to rain on it.”

Who say, “Let Him move speedily, let Him expedite His work [His promised vengeance], so that we may see it;
And let the purpose of the Holy One of Israel approach
And come to pass, so that we may know it!”

He will lift up a flag to [call] the distant nations [to bring His judgment on Judah],
And will whistle for them from the ends of the earth;
And indeed, they will come with great speed swiftly.

for this is what the Lord God says, “It shall not stand nor shall it happen.

The Lord will bring on you, on your people, and on your father’s house such days as have not come since the day that Ephraim (the ten northern tribes) separated from Judah—[He will call for] the king of Assyria.”

These [armies, like flies and bees] will all come and settle on the steep and rugged ravines and in the clefts of the rocks, and on all the thorn bushes and in all the watering places.

People will come there [to hunt] with arrows and with bows because all the land will be briars and thorns.

“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).”

Now what will you do in the day of [God’s] punishment,
And in the storm of devastation which will come from far away?
To whom will you flee for help?
And where will you leave your wealth [for safekeeping]?

Then a Shoot (the Messiah) will spring from the stock of Jesse [David’s father],
And a Branch from his roots will bear fruit.

They are coming from a distant country,
From the end of heaven [the farthest horizon]—
The Lord and the weapons of His indignation—
To destroy the whole land.

Wail, for the day of the Lord is at hand!
It will come as destruction from the Almighty (All Sufficient One—Invincible God)!

Hyenas will howl in their castles,
And jackals in their luxurious palaces.
Babylon’s time has nearly come,
And her days will not be prolonged.

The Lord of hosts has sworn [an oath], saying, “Just as I have intended, so it has certainly happened, and just as I have planned, so it will stand—

“Do not rejoice, O Philistia, any of you,
Because the rod [of Judah] that struck you is broken;
For out of the serpent’s root will come a viper [King Hezekiah of Judah],
And its offspring will be a flying serpent.

So it will come to pass when Moab presents himself,
When he wearies himself [worshiping] on his high place [of idolatry]
And comes to his sanctuary [of Chemosh, god of Moab] to pray,
That he will not prevail.

In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrians will come into Egypt and the Egyptians into Assyria; and the Egyptians will worship and serve [the Lord] with the Assyrians.

The watchman says,
“The morning comes [only briefly], but also [comes] the night [of Babylonian oppression].
If you would ask [of me then], ask [again, if Edom really wishes to know];
Come back again.”

For the Lord God of hosts says this, “Go to this [contemptible] steward,
To Shebna, who is in charge of the royal household [but is building himself a tomb worthy of a king, and say to him],

The [wicked] dead will not live [again], the spirits of the dead will not rise and return;
Therefore You have punished and destroyed them,
And You have wiped out every memory of them [every trace of them].

Come, my people, enter your chambers
And shut your doors behind you;
Hide for a little while
Until the [Lord’s] wrath is past.

In the generations to come Jacob will take root;
Israel will blossom and sprout,
And they will fill the surface of the world with fruit.

When its branches are dry, they are broken off;
The women come and make a fire with them.
For they are not a people of understanding,
Therefore He who made them will not have compassion on them,
And He who created them will not be gracious to them.

It will come to pass in that day that a great trumpet will be blown, and those who were lost and perishing in the land of Assyria and who were scattered in the land of Egypt will come and worship the Lord on the holy mountain at Jerusalem.

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.”

Then you [Jerusalem] will be brought low,
You will speak from the earth,
And from the dust where you lie face down
Your muffled words will come.
Your voice will also be like that of a spirit from the earth [like one produced by a medium],
And your speech will whisper and squeak from the dust.

For the tyrant will come to an end and the scorner will be finished,
Indeed all who are intent on doing evil will be cut off—

“Those who err in mind will know the truth,
And those who criticize and murmur discontentedly will accept instruction.

Now, go, write it on a tablet before them
And inscribe it on a scroll,
So that it may serve in the time to come
As a witness [against them] forevermore.

Therefore this wickedness [this sin, this injustice, this wrongdoing] will be to you
Like a crack [in a wall] about to fall,
A bulge in a high wall,
Whose collapse comes suddenly in an instant,

For so the Lord says to me,

“As the lion or the young lion growls over his prey,
And though a large group of shepherds is called out against him
He will not be terrified at their voice nor cringe at their noise,
So the Lord of hosts will come down to wage war on Mount Zion and on its hill.”

In little more than a year
You will tremble [with anxiety], you unsuspecting and complacent women;
For the vintage has ended,
And the harvest will not come.

Come near, you nations, to hear; and listen, O peoples!
Let the earth and all that is in it hear, and the world and all that comes forth from it.

For My sword is satiated [with blood] in heaven;
Indeed, it will come down for judgment on Edom
And on the people whom I have doomed for destruction.

Thorns will come up in its fortified palaces,
Nettles and brambles in its fortified cities;
It will be a haunt for jackals,
An abode for ostriches.

Say to those with an anxious and panic-stricken heart,
“Be strong, fear not!
Indeed, your God will come with vengeance [for the ungodly];
The retribution of God will come,
But He will save you.”

No lion will be there,
Nor will any predatory animal come up on it;
They will not be found there.
But the redeemed will walk there.

And the ransomed of the Lord will return
And come to Zion with shouts of jubilation,
And everlasting joy will be upon their heads;
They will find joy and gladness,
And sorrow and sighing will flee away.

Moreover, is it without the Lord that I have now come up against this land to destroy it? The Lord said to me, ‘Go up against this land and destroy it.’”’”

Do not listen to Hezekiah,’ for this is what the king of Assyria says, ‘Make peace with me and come out to me, and each one of you will eat from his own vine and each from his own fig tree and each [one of you] drink from the water of his own cistern,

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

They said to him, “This is what Hezekiah says, ‘This day is a day of distress, rebuke and disgrace; for children have come to birth, and there is no strength to deliver them.

And Sennacherib king of Assyria, heard them say concerning Tirhakah king of Cush (Ethiopia), “He has come out to fight against you.” And when he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying,

“Because your raging against Me
And your arrogance has come up to My ears,
I will put My hook in your nose
And My bridle in your mouth,
And I will turn you back by the way you came.

“Therefore, the Lord says this concerning the king of Assyria, ‘He will not come into this city or shoot an arrow there, or come before it with shield, or raise an assault ramp against it.

By the way that he came, by the same way he will return, and he will not come into this city,’ declares the Lord.

Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah and asked, “What did these men say? From where have they come to you?” And Hezekiah said, “They came to me from a far country, from Babylon.”

Listen carefully, the Lord God will come with might,
And His arm will rule for Him.
Most certainly His reward is with Him,
And His restitution accompanies Him.

“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].

The islands and coastlands have seen and they fear;
The ends of the earth tremble;
They have drawn near and have come.

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].

“Indeed, the former things have come to pass,
Now I declare new things;
Before they spring forth I proclaim them to you.”

Who among you will listen to this?
Who will listen and pay attention in the time to come?

For the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, and its Maker says this,

“Ask Me about the things to come concerning My sons,
And give Me orders concerning the work of My hands.

For this is what the Lord says,

“The products of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush (ancient Ethiopia)
And the Sabeans, men of stature,
Will come over to you and they will be yours;
They will walk behind you, in chains [of subjection to you] they will come over,
And they will bow down before you;
They will make supplication to you, [humbly and earnestly] saying,
‘Most certainly God is with you, and there is no other,
No other God [besides Him].’”

“Assemble yourselves and come;
Come together, you survivors of the nations!
They are ignorant,
Who carry around their wooden idols [in religious processions or into battle]
And keep on praying to a god that cannot save them.

“It shall be said of Me, ‘Only in the Lord are righteousness and strength.’
To Him people will come,
And all who were angry at Him will be put to shame.

“Come down and sit in the dust,
O virgin daughter of Babylon;
Sit on the ground [in abject humiliation]; there is no throne for you,
O daughter of the Chaldeans,
For you will no longer be called tender and delicate.

“But these two things shall come to you abruptly, in one day:
Loss of children and widowhood.
They will come on you in full measure
In spite of your many [claims of power through your] sorceries,
In spite of the great power of your enchantments.

“Therefore disaster will come on you;
You will not know how to make it disappear [with your magic].
And disaster will fall on you
For which you cannot atone [with all your offerings to your gods];
And destruction about which you do not know
Will come on you suddenly.

“You are wearied by your many counsels.
Just let the astrologers,
The stargazers,
Those who predict by the new moons [each month]
Stand up and save you from the things that will come upon you [Babylon].

“Hear this, O house of Jacob, you who are called by the name of Israel
And who come from the seed of Judah,
You who swear [allegiance] by the name of the Lord
And invoke the God of Israel,
But not in truth (sincerity) nor in righteousness [with moral and spiritual integrity].

I have declared them to you long ago;
Before they came to pass I announced them to you,
So that you could not say, ‘My idol has done them,
And my carved image and my cast image have commanded them.’

“Come near to Me, listen to this:
From the beginning I have not spoken in secret,
From the time that it happened, I was there.
And now the Lord God has sent Me, and His [Holy] Spirit.”

Saying to those who are bound and captured, ‘Go forth,’
And to those who are in [spiritual] darkness, ‘Show yourselves [come into the light of the Savior].’
They will feed along the roads [on which they travel],
And their pastures will be on all the bare heights.

“In fact, these will come from far away;
And, lo, these shall come from the north and from the west,
And these from the land of Aswan (southern Egypt).”

“Lift up your eyes and look around [at the returning exiles];
All these gather together and they come to you [to rebuild you].
As I live,” declares the Lord,
“You [Zion] will indeed clothe yourself with all of them as jewels and tie them on as a bride.

“Then [Zion], you will say in your heart,
‘Who has borne me these children,
Since I have been bereaved of my children
And am barren, an exile and a wanderer?
And who has reared these?
Indeed, I was left alone;
From where then did these children come?’”

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.

So the redeemed of the Lord will return
And come with joyful shouting to Zion;
Everlasting joy will be on their heads.
They will obtain gladness and joy,
And sorrow and sighing will flee away.

Awake, awake,
Put on your strength, O Zion;
Put on your beautiful garments,
O Jerusalem, the holy city;
For the uncircumcised and the unclean
Will no longer come into you.

Yet the Lord was willing
To crush Him, causing Him to suffer;
If He would give Himself as a guilt offering [an atonement for sin],
He shall see His [spiritual] offspring,
He shall prolong His days,
And the will (good pleasure) of the Lord shall succeed and prosper in His hand.

“You will be firmly established in righteousness:
You will be far from [even the thought of] oppression, for you will not fear,
And from terror, for it will not come near you.

“Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters;
And you who have no money come, buy grain and eat.
Come, buy wine and milk
Without money and without cost [simply accept it as a gift from God].

“Incline your ear [to listen] and come to Me;
Hear, so that your soul may live;
And I will make an everlasting covenant with you,
According to the faithful mercies [promised and] shown to David.

“For as the rain and snow come down from heaven,
And do not return there without watering the earth,
Making it bear and sprout,
And providing seed to the sower and bread to the eater,

“Instead of the thorn bush the cypress tree will grow,
And instead of the nettle the myrtle tree will grow;
And it will be a memorial to the Lord,
For an everlasting sign [of His mercy] which will not be cut off.”

This is what the Lord says,
“Maintain justice and do righteousness,
For My salvation is soon to come,
And My righteousness and justice is soon to be revealed.

All you beasts of the field,
All you beasts (hostile nations) in the forest,
Come to eat.

“Come,” [they say,] “let us get wine, and let us fill ourselves with strong drink;
And tomorrow will be like today, very great indeed.”

The righteous man perishes [at the hand of evil], and no one takes it to heart;
Faithful and devout men are taken away, while no one understands
That the righteous person is taken away [to be spared] from disaster and evil.

“But come here, you sons of a sorceress [raised in deception and superstition],
Offspring of an adulterer and a prostitute.

So they will fear the name of the Lord from the west
And His glory from the rising of the sun.
For He will come in like a narrow, rushing stream
Which the breath of the Lord drives [overwhelming the enemy].

“A Redeemer (Messiah) will come to Zion,
And to those in Jacob (Israel) who turn from transgression (sin),” declares the Lord.

“Arise [from spiritual depression to a new life], shine [be radiant with the glory and brilliance of the Lord]; for your light has come,
And the glory and brilliance of the Lord has risen upon you.

“Nations will come to your light,
And kings to the brightness of your rising.

“Lift up your eyes around you and see;
They all gather together, they come to you.
Your sons will come from far away,
And your daughters will be looked after at their side.

“Then you will see and be radiant,
And your heart will tremble [with joy] and rejoice
Because the abundant wealth of the seas will be brought to you,
The wealth of the nations will come to you.

“A multitude of camels [from the eastern trading tribes] will cover you [Jerusalem],
The young camels of Midian and Ephah;
All those from Sheba [who once came to trade] will come
Bringing gold and frankincense
And proclaiming the praises of the Lord.

“All the flocks of Kedar will be gathered to you [as the eastern pastoral tribes join the trading tribes],
The rams of Nebaioth will serve you;
They will go up with acceptance [as sacrifices] on My altar,
And I will glorify the house of My honor and splendor.

“The islands and coastlands will confidently wait for Me;
And the ships of Tarshish will come first,
To bring your sons from far away,
Their silver and gold with them,
For the name of the Lord your God,
For the Holy One of Israel because He has glorified you.

“The glory of Lebanon will come to you,
The cypress, the juniper, and the cedar together,
To beautify the place of My sanctuary;
And I will honor and make the place of My feet glorious.