At that time men will throw their silver and gold idols, which they made for themselves to worship, into the caves where rodents and bats live,

so they themselves can go into the crevices of the rocky cliffs and the openings under the rocky overhangs, trying to escape the dreadful judgment of the Lord and his royal splendor, when he rises up to terrify the earth.

Stop trusting in human beings, whose life's breath is in their nostrils. For why should they be given special consideration?

Jerusalem certainly stumbles, Judah falls, for their words and their actions offend the Lord; they rebel against his royal authority.

The look on their faces testifies to their guilt; like the people of Sodom they openly boast of their sin. Too bad for them! For they bring disaster on themselves.

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

Too bad for the wicked sinners! For they will get exactly what they deserve.

Oppressors treat my people cruelly; creditors rule over them. My people's leaders mislead them; they give you confusing directions.

The Lord says, "The women of Zion are proud. They walk with their heads high and flirt with their eyes. They skip along and the jewelry on their ankles jingles.

Seven women will grab hold of one man at that time. They will say, "We will provide our own food, we will provide our own clothes; but let us belong to you -- take away our shame!"

Those who get up early to drink beer are as good as dead, those who keep drinking long after dark until they are intoxicated with wine.

They have stringed instruments, tambourines, flutes, and wine at their parties. So they do not recognize what the Lord is doing, they do not perceive what he is bringing about.

Men will be humiliated, they will be brought low; the proud will be brought low.

They say, "Let him hurry, let him act quickly, so we can see; let the plan of the Holy One of Israel take shape and come to pass, then we will know it!"

Those who think they are wise are as good as dead, those who think they possess understanding.

They pronounce the guilty innocent for a payoff, they ignore the just cause of the innocent.

Therefore, as flaming fire devours straw, and dry grass disintegrates in the flames, so their root will rot, and their flower will blow away like dust. For they have rejected the law of the Lord who commands armies, they have spurned the commands of the Holy One of Israel.

He lifts a signal flag for a distant nation, he whistles for it to come from the far regions of the earth. Look, they come quickly and swiftly.

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

Their roar is like a lion's; they roar like young lions. They growl and seize their prey; they drag it away and no one can come to the rescue.

At that time they will growl over their prey, it will sound like sea waves crashing against rocks. One will look out over the land and see the darkness of disaster, clouds will turn the light into darkness.

Seraphs stood over him; each one had six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and they used the remaining two to fly.

They called out to one another, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord who commands armies! His majestic splendor fills the entire earth!"

Make the hearts of these people calloused; make their ears deaf and their eyes blind! Otherwise they might see with their eyes and hear with their ears, their hearts might understand and they might repent and be healed."

During the reign of Ahaz son of Jotham, son of Uzziah, king of Judah, King Rezin of Syria and King Pekah son of Remaliah of Israel marched up to Jerusalem to do battle, but they were unable to prevail against it.

It was reported to the family of David, "Syria has allied with Ephraim." They and their people were emotionally shaken, just as the trees of the forest shake before the wind.

So the Lord told Isaiah, "Go out with your son Shear-jashub and meet Ahaz at the end of the conduit of the upper pool which is located on the road to the field where they wash and dry cloth.

They say, "Let's attack Judah, terrorize it, and conquer it. Then we'll set up the son of Tabeel as its king."

From the abundance of milk they produce, he will have sour milk for his meals. Indeed, everyone left in the heart of the land will eat sour milk and honey.

They will stay away from all the hills that were cultivated, for fear of the thorns and briers. Cattle will graze there and sheep will trample on them.

Devise your strategy, but it will be thwarted! Issue your orders, but they will not be executed! For God is with us!

They will say to you, "Seek oracles at the pits used to conjure up underworld spirits, from the magicians who chirp and mutter incantations. Should people not seek oracles from their gods, by asking the dead about the destiny of the living?"

Then you must recall the Lord's instructions and the prophetic testimony of what would happen. Certainly they say such things because their minds are spiritually darkened.

They will pass through the land destitute and starving. Their hunger will make them angry, and they will curse their king and their God as they look upward.

You have enlarged the nation; you give them great joy. They rejoice in your presence as harvesters rejoice; as warriors celebrate when they divide up the plunder.

All the people were aware of it, the people of Ephraim and those living in Samaria. Yet with pride and an arrogant attitude, they said,

Syria from the east, and the Philistines from the west, they gobbled up Israelite territory. Despite all this, his anger does not subside, and his hand is ready to strike again.

The people did not return to the one who struck them, they did not seek reconciliation with the Lord who commands armies.

For evil burned like a fire, it consumed thorns and briers; it burned up the thickets of the forest, and they went up in smoke.

They devoured on the right, but were still hungry, they ate on the left, but were not satisfied. People even ate the flesh of their own arm!

Manasseh fought against Ephraim, and Ephraim against Manasseh; together they fought against Judah. Despite all this, his anger does not subside, and his hand is ready to strike again.

to keep the poor from getting fair treatment, and to deprive the oppressed among my people of justice, so they can steal what widows own, and loot what belongs to orphans.

At that time those left in Israel, those who remain of the family of Jacob, will no longer rely on a foreign leader that abuses them. Instead they will truly rely on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel.

So here is what the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, says: "My people who live in Zion, do not be afraid of Assyria, even though they beat you with a club and lift their cudgel against you as Egypt did.

They attacked Aiath, moved through Migron, depositing their supplies at Micmash.

They went through the pass, spent the night at Geba. Ramah trembled, Gibeah of Saul ran away.

This very day, standing in Nob, they shake their fist at Daughter Zion's mountain -- at the hill of Jerusalem.

They will no longer injure or destroy on my entire royal mountain. For there will be universal submission to the Lord's sovereignty, just as the waters completely cover the sea.

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.

There will be a highway leading out of Assyria for the remnant of his people, just as there was for Israel, when they went up from the land of Egypt.

On a bare hill raise a signal flag, shout to them, wave your hand, so they might enter the gates of the princes!

They come from a distant land, from the horizon. It is the Lord with his instruments of judgment, coming to destroy the whole earth.

They panic -- cramps and pain seize hold of them like those of a woman who is straining to give birth. They look at one another in astonishment; their faces are flushed red.

Look, I am stirring up the Medes to attack them; they are not concerned about silver, nor are they interested in gold.

Their arrows will cut young men to ribbons; they have no compassion on a person's offspring, they will not look with pity on children.

Nations will take them and bring them back to their own place. Then the family of Jacob will make foreigners their servants as they settle in the Lord's land. They will make their captors captives and rule over the ones who oppressed them.

The whole earth rests and is quiet; they break into song.

Those who see you stare at you, they look at you carefully, thinking: "Is this the man who shook the earth, the one who made kingdoms tremble?

Is this the one who made the world like a desert, who ruined its cities, and refused to free his prisoners so they could return home?"'

Prepare to execute his sons for the sins their ancestors have committed. They must not rise up and take possession of the earth, or fill the surface of the world with cities."

How will they respond to the messengers of this nation? Indeed, the Lord has made Zion secure; the oppressed among his people will find safety in her.

They went up to the temple, the people of Dibon went up to the high places to lament. Because of what happened to Nebo and Medeba, Moab wails. Every head is shaved bare, every beard is trimmed off.

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

My heart cries out because of Moab's plight, and for the fugitives stretched out as far as Zoar and Eglath Shelishiyah. For they weep as they make their way up the ascent of Luhith; they loudly lament their demise on the road to Horonaim.

For this reason what they have made and stored up, they carry over the Stream of the Poplars.

So Moab wails over its demise -- they all wail! Completely devastated, they moan about what has happened to the raisin cakes of Kir Hareseth.

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

At that time men will trust in their creator; they will depend on the Holy One of Israel.

They will no longer trust in the altars their hands made, or depend on the Asherah poles and incense altars their fingers made.

At that time their fortified cities will be like the abandoned summits of the Amorites, which they abandoned because of the Israelites; there will be desolation.

Though these people make an uproar as loud as the roaring of powerful waves, when he shouts at them, they will flee to a distant land, driven before the wind like dead weeds on the hills, or like dead thistles before a strong gale.

In the evening there is sudden terror; by morning they vanish. This is the fate of those who try to plunder us, the destiny of those who try to loot us!

They will all be left for the birds of the hills and the wild animals; the birds will eat them during the summer, and all the wild animals will eat them during the winter.

The Egyptians will panic, and I will confuse their strategy. They will seek guidance from the idols and from the spirits of the dead, from the pits used to conjure up underworld spirits, and from the magicians.

The Lord has made them undiscerning; they lead Egypt astray in all she does, so that she is like a drunk sliding around in his own vomit.

At that time the Egyptians will be like women. They will tremble and fear because the Lord who commands armies brandishes his fist against them.

It will become a visual reminder in the land of Egypt of the Lord who commands armies. When they cry out to the Lord because of oppressors, he will send them a deliverer and defender who will rescue them.

The Lord will reveal himself to the Egyptians, and they will acknowledge the Lord's authority at that time. They will present sacrifices and offerings; they will make vows to the Lord and fulfill them.

The Lord will strike Egypt, striking and then healing them. They will turn to the Lord and he will listen to their prayers and heal them.

so the king of Assyria will lead away the captives of Egypt and the exiles of Cush, both young and old. They will be in undergarments and barefoot, with the buttocks exposed; the Egyptians will be publicly humiliated.

For they flee from the swords -- from the drawn sword and from the battle-ready bow and from the severity of the battle.

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.

All your leaders ran away together -- they fled to a distant place; all your refugees were captured together -- they were captured without a single arrow being shot.

They removed the defenses of Judah. At that time you looked for the weapons in the House of the Forest.

When the news reaches Egypt, they will be shaken by what has happened to Tyre.

Look at the land of the Chaldeans, these people who have lost their identity! The Assyrians have made it a home for wild animals. They erected their siege towers, demolished its fortresses, and turned it into a heap of ruins.

Her profits and earnings will be set apart for the Lord. They will not be stored up or accumulated, for her profits will be given to those who live in the Lord's presence and will be used to purchase large quantities of food and beautiful clothes.

The earth is defiled by its inhabitants, for they have violated laws, disregarded the regulation, and broken the permanent treaty.

They no longer sing and drink wine; the beer tastes bitter to those who drink it.

They howl in the streets because of what happened to the wine; all joy turns to sorrow; celebrations disappear from the earth.

This is what will happen throughout the earth, among the nations. It will be like when they beat an olive tree, and just a few olives are left at the end of the harvest.

They lift their voices and shout joyfully; they praise the majesty of the Lord in the west.

They will be imprisoned in a pit, locked up in a prison, and after staying there for a long time, they will be punished.

At that time they will say, "Look, here is our God! We waited for him and he delivered us. Here is the Lord! We waited for him. Let's rejoice and celebrate his deliverance!"

You keep completely safe the people who maintain their faith, for they trust in you.

If the wicked are shown mercy, they do not learn about justice. Even in a land where right is rewarded, they act unjustly; they do not see the Lord's majesty revealed.

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, in distress they looked for you; they uttered incantations because of your discipline.

unless they became my subjects and made peace with me; let them make peace with me.

So in this way Jacob's sin will be forgiven, and this is how they will show they are finished sinning: They will make all the stones of the altars like crushed limestone, and the Asherah poles and the incense altars will no longer stand.