The sinful nation is as good as dead, the people weighed down by evil deeds. They are offspring who do wrong, children who do wicked things. They have abandoned the Lord, and rejected the Holy One of Israel. They are alienated from him.

I will reestablish honest judges as in former times, wise advisers as in earlier days. Then you will be called, 'The Just City, Faithful Town.'"

Men bow down to them in homage, they lie flat on the ground in worship. Don't spare them!

At that time the brother will shout, 'I am no doctor, I have no food or coat in my house; don't make me a leader of the people!'"

Tell the innocent it will go well with them, for they will be rewarded for what they have done.

What more can I do for my vineyard beyond what I have already done? When I waited for it to produce edible grapes, why did it produce sour ones instead?

None tire or stumble, they don't stop to nap or sleep. They don't loosen their belts, or unstrap their sandals to rest.

He said, "Go and tell these people: 'Listen continually, but don't understand! Look continually, but don't perceive!'

Even if only a tenth of the people remain in the land, it will again be destroyed, like one of the large sacred trees or an Asherah pole, when a sacred pillar on a high place is thrown down. That sacred pillar symbolizes the special chosen family."

Tell him, 'Make sure you stay calm! Don't be afraid! Don't be intimidated by these two stubs of smoking logs, or by the raging anger of Rezin, Syria, and the son of Remaliah.

But Ahaz responded, "I don't want to ask; I don't want to put the Lord to a test."

"Do not say, 'Conspiracy,' every time these people say the word. Don't be afraid of what scares them; don't be terrified.

"The bricks have fallen, but we will rebuild with chiseled stone; the sycamore fig trees have been cut down, but we will replace them with cedars."

I sent him against a godless nation, I ordered him to attack the people with whom I was angry, to take plunder and to carry away loot, to trample them down like dirt in the streets.

As I have done to Samaria and its idols, so I will do to Jerusalem and its idols."

For he says: "By my strong hand I have accomplished this, by my strategy that I devised. I invaded the territory of nations, and looted their storehouses. Like a mighty conqueror, I brought down rulers.

The Lord who commands armies is about to beat them with a whip, similar to the way he struck down Midian at the rock of Oreb. He will use his staff against the sea, lifting it up as he did in Egypt.

Look, the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, is ready to cut off the branches with terrifying power. The tallest trees will be cut down, the loftiest ones will be brought low.

The thickets of the forest will be chopped down with an ax, and mighty Lebanon will fall.

A wolf will reside with a lamb, and a leopard will lie down with a young goat; an ox and a young lion will graze together, as a small child leads them along.

A cow and a bear will graze together, their young will lie down together. A lion, like an ox, will eat straw.

They will swoop down on the Philistine hills to the west; together they will loot the people of the east. They will take over Edom and Moab, and the Ammonites will be their subjects.

Sing to the Lord, for he has done magnificent things, let this be known throughout the earth!

I will punish the world for its evil, and wicked people for their sin. I will put an end to the pride of the insolent, I will bring down the arrogance of tyrants.

It furiously struck down nations with unceasing blows. It angrily ruled over nations, oppressing them without restraint.

The evergreens also rejoice over your demise, as do the cedars of Lebanon, singing, 'Since you fell asleep, no woodsman comes up to chop us down!'

Your splendor has been brought down to Sheol, as well as the sound of your stringed instruments. You lie on a bed of maggots, with a blanket of worms over you.

Look how you have fallen from the sky, O shining one, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the ground, O conqueror of the nations!

But you were brought down to Sheol, to the remote slopes of the pit.

As for all the kings of the nations, all of them lie down in splendor, each in his own tomb.

Don't be so happy, all you Philistines, just because the club that beat you has been broken! For a viper will grow out of the serpent's root, and its fruit will be a darting adder.

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

The cities of Aroer are abandoned. They will be used for herds, which will lie down there in peace.

The noisy city is full of raucous sounds; the town is filled with revelry. Your slain were not cut down by the sword; they did not die in battle.

So I say: "Don't look at me! I am weeping bitterly. Don't try to console me concerning the destruction of my defenseless people."

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

The ruined town is shattered; all of the houses are shut up tight.

The earth will stagger around like a drunk; it will sway back and forth like a hut in a windstorm. Its sin will weigh it down, and it will fall and never get up again.

O Lord, you are my God! I will exalt you in praise, I will extol your fame. For you have done extraordinary things, and executed plans made long ago exactly as you decreed.

Indeed, you have made the city into a heap of rubble, the fortified town into a heap of ruins; the fortress of foreigners is no longer a city, it will never be rebuilt.

For the Lord's power will make this mountain secure. Moab will be trampled down where it stands, as a heap of straw is trampled down in a manure pile.

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.

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.

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.

I look for you during the night, my spirit within me seeks you at dawn, for when your judgments come upon the earth, those who live in the world learn about justice.

O Lord, you are ready to act, but they don't even notice. They will see and be put to shame by your angry judgment against humankind, yes, fire will consume your enemies.

O Lord, you make us secure, for even all we have accomplished, you have done for us.

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

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.

Ariel is as good as dead -- Ariel, the town David besieged! Keep observing your annual rituals, celebrate your festivals on schedule.

They travel down to Egypt without seeking my will, seeking Pharaoh's protection, and looking for safety in Egypt's protective shade.

Now go, write it down on a tablet in their presence, inscribe it on a scroll, so that it might be preserved for a future time as an enduring witness.

They say to the visionaries, "See no more visions!" and to the seers, "Don't relate messages to us about what is right! Tell us nice things, relate deceptive messages.

Those who go down to Egypt for help are as good as dead, those who rely on war horses, and trust in Egypt's many chariots and in their many, many horsemen. But they do not rely on the Holy One of Israel and do not seek help from the Lord.

Justice will settle down in the desert and fairness will live in the orchard.

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

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

Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to the chief adviser, "Speak to your servants in Aramaic, for we understand it. Don't speak with us in the Judahite dialect in the hearing of the people who are on the wall."

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

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."

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,

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

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.

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."'"

"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."

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.

One day, as he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword. They ran away to the land of Ararat; his son Esarhaddon replaced him as king.

Look, I will make the shadow go back ten steps on the stairs of Ahaz." And then the shadow went back ten steps.

Go up on a high mountain, O herald Zion! Shout out loudly, O herald Jerusalem! Shout, don't be afraid! Say to the towns of Judah, "Here is your God!"

The craftsman encourages the metalsmith, the one who wields the hammer encourages the one who pounds on the anvil. He approves the quality of the welding, and nails it down so it won't fall over."

Don't be afraid, for I am with you! Don't be frightened, for I am your God! I strengthen you -- yes, I help you -- yes, I uphold you with my saving right hand!

For I am the Lord your God, the one who takes hold of your right hand, who says to you, 'Don't be afraid, I am helping you.'

Don't be afraid, despised insignificant Jacob, men of Israel. I am helping you," says the Lord, your protector, the Holy One of Israel.

I will make streams flow down the slopes and produce springs in the middle of the valleys. I will turn the desert into a pool of water and the arid land into springs.

Sing to the Lord a brand new song! Praise him from the horizon of the earth, you who go down to the sea, and everything that lives in it, you coastlands and those who live there!

I will lead the blind along an unfamiliar way; I will guide them down paths they have never traveled. I will turn the darkness in front of them into light, and level out the rough ground. This is what I will do for them. I will not abandon them.

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

Now, this is what the Lord says, the one who created you, O Jacob, and formed you, O Israel: "Don't be afraid, for I will protect you. I call you by name, you are mine.

Don't be afraid, for I am with you. From the east I will bring your descendants; from the west I will gather you.

I will say to the north, 'Hand them over!' and to the south, 'Don't hold any back!' Bring my sons from distant lands, and my daughters from the remote regions of the earth,

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:

"Don't remember these earlier events; don't recall these former events.

This is what the Lord, the one who made you, says -- the one who formed you in the womb and helps you: "Don't be afraid, my servant Jacob, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen!

Don't panic! Don't be afraid! Did I not tell you beforehand and decree it? You are my witnesses! Is there any God but me? There is no other sheltering rock; I know of none.

He cuts down cedars and acquires a cypress or an oak. He gets trees from the forest; he plants a cedar and the rain makes it grow.

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.

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!'

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?'

O sky, rain down from above! Let the clouds send down showers of deliverance! Let the earth absorb it so salvation may grow, and deliverance may sprout up along with it. I, the Lord, create it.

This is what the Lord says: "The profit of Egypt and the revenue of Ethiopia, along with the Sabeans, those tall men, will be brought to you and become yours. They will walk behind you, coming along in chains. They will bow down to you and pray to you: 'Truly God is with you; he has no peer; there is no other God!'"

Bel kneels down, Nebo bends low. Their images weigh down animals and beasts. Your heavy images are burdensome to tired animals.

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

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.

"Fall down! Sit in the dirt, O virgin daughter Babylon! Sit on the ground, not on a throne, O daughter of the Babylonians! Indeed, you will no longer be called delicate and pampered.

This is what the Lord, the protector of Israel, their Holy One, says to the one who is despised and rejected by nations, a servant of rulers: "Kings will see and rise in respect, princes will bow down, because of the faithful Lord, the Holy One of Israel who has chosen you."

They will not be hungry or thirsty; the sun's oppressive heat will not beat down on them, for one who has compassion on them will guide them; he will lead them to springs of water.

Kings will be your children's guardians; their princesses will nurse your children. With their faces to the ground they will bow down to you and they will lick the dirt on your feet. Then you will recognize that I am the Lord; those who wait patiently for me are not put to shame.

Look, all of you who start a fire and who equip yourselves with flaming arrows, walk in the light of the fire you started and among the flaming arrows you ignited! This is what you will receive from me: you will lie down in a place of pain.

Listen to me, you who know what is right, you people who are aware of my law! Don't be afraid of the insults of men; don't be discouraged because of their abuse!

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."