behold, at eventide, trouble; before the morning they are not. This is the portion of them that spoil us, and the lot of them that rob us.

Sending messengers upon the sea, and in vessels of the bulrush upon the face of the waters, Go, ye swift messengers, to a nation drawn out and sharpened, to a people to be feared from this, and farther off; a nation of might, of might, and of treading down, of which the rivers divided up its land.

For this is what the Lord has said to me: I will be quiet, watching from my place; like the clear heat when the sun is shining, like a mist of dew in the heat of summer.

In that time shall a gift be brought to Jehovah of armies of a people drawn out, and sharpened, and from a people to be feared from this, and farther off; a nation of might, of might, and of treading down, of which the rivers divided up its lands, to the place of the name of Jehovah of armies, mount Zion.

This is the heavy burden upon Egypt: Behold, the LORD will ride upon a swift cloud, and come into Egypt. And the idols of Egypt shall tremble at his coming, and the heart of Egypt shall quake within her.

I will deliver Egypt into the hands of harsh masters,
and a strong king will rule it.
This is the declaration of the Lord God of Hosts.

At the same time shall the LORD of Hosts have an altar in the midst of the land of Egypt, with this title thereby: "Unto the LORD."

This shall be a token or testimony unto the LORD of Hosts in the land of Egypt, when they shall cry unto him, because of those that oppress them. And he shall send them a Captain and a Saviour to deliver them.

And the inhabitants of this coast shall say in that day, Behold, such is our confidence, whither we fled for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria; and how shall we escape?

This is the heavy burden of the waste sea: A grievous vision was showed unto me, even as the stormy weather that passeth through at the noonday, to come from the wilderness, from that horrible land.

For this cause I am full of bitter grief; pains like the pains of a woman in childbirth have come on me: I am bent down with sorrow at what comes to my ears; I am shocked by what I see.

For the Lord said this to me: "Go, set watchman in position. He must announce what he sees.

And lo, this, the chariot of a man is coming, A couple of horsemen.' And he answereth and saith: 'Fallen, fallen hath Babylon, And all the graven images of her gods He hath broken to the earth.

This, O my fellow threshers and fanners, have I heard of the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, to show it unto you.

For the Lord said this to me: “Within one year, as a hired worker counts years, all the glory of Kedar will be gone.

For this cause I have said, Let your eyes be turned away from me in my bitter weeping; I will not be comforted for the wasting of the daughter of my people.

For this is the day of the LORD of Hosts, wherein he will plague, tread down, and weed out the valley of visions, and break down the walls, with such a crack, that it shall give a sound in the mountains.

And this happened: the choicest of your valleys were full of chariots, and the cavalry confidently stood at the gate.

ye made also a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the old pool. But ye looked not unto him that had done this, neither had ye respect unto him that purposed it long ago.

And it was revealed in mine ears by Jehovah of hosts: Assuredly this iniquity shall not be purged from you till ye die, saith the Lord, Jehovah of hosts.

Thus saith the Lord Jehovah of hosts: Go, get thee in unto this steward, unto Shebna, who is over the house, and say,

"Come, go to this steward, to Shebna who is in charge of the household, and ask him: "What are you doing here, and who are your relatives here that you could carve out a grave for yourself here cutting out a tomb at the choicest location, chiseling out a resting place for yourself out of solid rock?

And this shall happen: On that day I will call to my servant, Eliakim son of Hilkiah,

His father's family will gain increasing prominence because of him, including the offspring and the offshoots. All the small containers, including the bowls and all the jars will hang from this peg.'

Here is a message about Tyre: Wail, you large ships, for the port is too devastated to enter! From the land of Cyprus this news is announced to them.

Be ashamed, O Sidon, for the sea says this, O fortress of the sea: "I have not gone into labor or given birth; I have not raised young men or brought up young women."

Is this your joyous city, whose antiquity is of ancient days? Her feet shall carry her afar off to sojourn.

Who hath purposed this against Tyre, the distributor of crowns, whose merchants were princes, whose dealers were the honourable of the earth?

Behold the land of the Chaldeans: this people did not exist; the Assyrian founded it for the dwellers in the desert: they set up their towers, they destroyed the palaces thereof; he brought it to ruin.

And this will happen on that day: And Tyre [will] be forgotten seventy years, like the days of one king. At [the] end of seventy years, it will be for Tyre like the song of the prostitute:

And this shall happen: at [the] end of seventy years, Yahweh will visit Tyre, and she will return to her harlot's wages, and she will commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the world on the face of the earth.

And this shall happen: her merchandise and her harlot's wages [will be] set apart for Yahweh; it will not be stored up, and it will not be hoarded, but her merchandise will be for those who live before the {presence} of Yahweh, for eating to satiation and for fine clothing.

The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled; for Jehovah hath spoken this word.

For this cause the earth is given up to the curse, and those in it are judged as sinners: for this cause those living on the earth are burned up, and the rest are small in number.

For this is how it will be on earth
among the nations:
like a harvested olive tree,
like a gleaning after a grape harvest.

For this, with lights they honored Jehovah in the isles of the sea, the name of Jehovah the God of Israel.

And this shall happen: The one who flees from the sound of the terror shall fall into the pit, and the one who goes up from {inside the pit} shall be caught in the snare, for [the] windows from heaven are opened, and [the] foundations of [the] earth tremble.

And this shall happen on that day: Yahweh will punish the host of heaven in heaven, and the kings of the earth on the earth.

For this cause will the strong people give glory to you, the town of the cruel ones will be in fear of you.

And in this mountain will Jehovah of hosts make unto all peoples a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined.

And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the veil which veileth all the peoples, and the covering that is spread over all the nations.

And it shall be said in that day, Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is Jehovah, we have waited for him; we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.

For in this mountain shall the hand of Jehovah rest, and Moab shall be trodden down under him, as straw is trodden down in the dunghill;

In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah: We have a strong city; salvation doth he appoint for walls and bulwarks.

Trust in the Lord from this time forward, even in Yah, the Lord, an enduring protector!

The dead will not come back to life: their spirits will not come back to earth; for this cause you have sent destruction on them, so that the memory of them is dead.

It will come to this point, that Jacob shall be rooted again, and Israel shall be green, and bear flowers, and they shall fill the whole world with their fruit.

By this, therefore, shall the iniquity of Jacob be purged; and this is all the fruit of the taking away of his sin: when he shall make all the stones of the altar as chalkstones that are crumbled in pieces, the Asherahs and the sun-images shall not stand.

When its branches are dry they will be broken off; the women will come and put fire to them: for it is a foolish people; for this cause he who made them will have no mercy on them, and he whose work they are will not have pity on them.

And this shall happen: on that day, Yahweh will thresh from the floodwaters of the Euphrates to the wadi of Egypt, and [as for] you, you will be gathered one by one, sons of Israel.

And this shall happen: on that day, a great trumpet will be blown, and those who were lost in the land of Assyria will come, and those who were scattered in the land of Egypt, and they will bow down to Yahweh on the {holy mountain} at Jerusalem.

For it is: "Do this and do that, do this and do that, Line upon line, line upon line, a little here, a little there."

For with stammering lips and a strange tongue will he speak to this people;

to whom he said, This is the rest: cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing. But they would not hear.

For this cause the word of the Lord will be to them rule after rule, line after line, here a little, there a little; so that they may go on their way, and falling back may be broken, and taken in the net.

Therefore hear the word of Jehovah, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem.

Because ye said, We cut out a covenant with death, and with hades we did this; when this overflowing scourge passed through it shall not come to us, for we set falsehood our refuge, and in ahewe hid ourselves.,

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.

Whenever it sweeps by, it will overtake you; indeed, every morning it will sweep by, it will come through during the day and the night." When this announcement is understood, it will cause nothing but terror.

This also cometh forth from Jehovah of hosts; he is wonderful in counsel, great in wisdom.

Stop and take some time and wonder [at this prophecy],
Blind yourselves and be blinded [at its fulfillment by your spiritual incompetence].
They are drunk, but not from wine;
They stagger, but not from strong drink.

And the whole vision is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which they give to one that can read, saying, Read this, I pray thee; and he saith, 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.

And the Lord saith, Forasmuch as this people draw near with their mouth, and honour me with their lips, but their heart is removed far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught of men;

therefore, behold, I will proceed to do marvellously with this people, to do marvellously, even with wonder, and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their intelligent ones shall be hid.

For this reason the Lord, the saviour of Abraham, says about the family of Jacob, Jacob will not now be put to shame, or his face be clouded with fear.

Woe to the rebellious children!
This is the Lord’s declaration.
They carry out a plan, but not Mine;
they make an alliance,
but against My will,
piling sin on top of sin.

This is a message about the animals in the Negev: Through a land of distress and danger, inhabited by lionesses and roaring lions, by snakes and darting adders, they transport their wealth on the backs of donkeys, their riches on the humps of camels, to a nation that cannot help them.

For the Egyptian shall help in vain, and to no purpose: therefore have I cried concerning this, Their strength is to sit still.

Now therefore, go thy way; and write them this before them in a table, and note it in a book: that it may finally remain and be kept still forever.

that this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of Jehovah;

Therefore thus saith the Holy One of Israel: Because ye reject this word, and confide in oppression and wilfulness, and depend thereon,

therefore this iniquity shall be to you as a breach ready to fall, swelling out in a towering wall, whose breaking shall come suddenly in an instant.

For the Lord Yahweh, the holy one of Israel, said this: "In returning and rest you shall be saved; your strength shall be in quietness and in trust." But you were not willing,

And ye will say, No; for upon horses we will flee: for this ye shall flee: and upon the swift will we ride; for this they pursuing you shall be swift.

For this cause the Lord will be waiting, so that he may be kind to you; and he will be lifted up, so that he may have mercy on you; for the Lord is a God of righteousness: there is a blessing on all whose hope is in him.

And when ye turn to the right hand or when ye turn to the left, thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it.

For the fire of pain is ordained from the beginning: yea, even for kings it is prepared. This hath the LORD set in the deep, and made it wide: the burning whereof is fire and much wood. The breath of the LORD, which is a river of brimstone, doth kindle it.

For this is what the Lord said to me:

As a lion or young lion growls over its prey
when a band of shepherds is called out against it,
and is not terrified by their shouting
or subdued by their noise,
so the Lord of Hosts will come down
to fight on Mount Zion
and on its hill.

Assyria will fall by a sword, but not one human-made; a sword not made by humankind will destroy them. They will run away from this sword and their young men will be forced to do hard labor.

His rock will pass away because of fear,
and his officers will be afraid because of the signal flag.

This is the Lord’s declaration—whose fire is in Zion and whose furnace is in Jerusalem.

and over the land of my people overgrown with thorns and briers yes, over all the houses of merriment and over this city of revelry.

This desolation will continue until new life is poured out on us from heaven. Then the desert will become an orchard and the orchard will be considered a forest.

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

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.

Though at this time your ropes are slack, the mast is not secured, and the sail is not unfurled, at that time you will divide up a great quantity of loot; even the lame will drag off plunder.

And a highway shall be there and a way, and it shall be called, The way of holiness: the unclean shall not pass through it; but it shall be for these. Those that go this way even fools, shall not err therein.

And this happened: In {the fourteenth year} of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria went up against all the fortified cities of Judah, and he captured them.

And Rabshakeh said to them, "Now say to Hezekiah, 'Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: "What [is] this confidence [in] which you trust?

Thou thinkest, peradventure, that thou hast counsel and power enough to maintain this war: or else whereto trustest thou, that thou castest thyself off from 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.

And if you say to me, 'We trust in Yahweh our God,' [was it] not he whose high places and altars Hezekiah removed? And he said to Judah and to Jerusalem, 'You shall bow down in the {presence} of this altar.'"

And now was it without Yahweh that I have come up against this land to destroy it? Yahweh said to me, "Go up against this land and destroy it!" '"

Then answered Rabshakeh, "Think ye, that the king sent me to speak this only unto you? Hath he not sent me to them also, that lie upon the wall? That they be not compelled to eat their own dung, and drink their own stale with you?"

This is what the king says: Do not be tricked by Hezekiah, for there is no salvation for you in him.

And [do] not let Hezekiah make you rely on Yahweh, saying, "Surely Yahweh will deliver us; this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria!"

Do not give ear to Hezekiah, for this is what the king of Assyria says, Make peace with me, and come out to me; and everyone will be free to take the fruit of his vine and of his fig-tree, and the water of his spring;

And they will be silent and not answer him a word: for this the command of the king, saying, Ye shall not answer.

And this happened: When King Hezekiah heard, he tore his garments, covered himself with sackcloth, and entered the temple of Yahweh.

Eliakim the palace supervisor, Shebna the scribe, and the leading priests, clothed in sackcloth, sent this message to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz: