Thematic Bible: Prophecies, reproofs, and exhortations of


Thematic Bible



Therefore justice is far from us, and righteousness does not reach us. We hope for light, but there is darkness; for brightness, but we live in the night. We grope along a wall like the blind; we grope like those without eyes. We stumble at noon as though it were twilight; [we are] like the dead among those who are healthy. We all growl like bears and moan like doves. We hope for justice, but there is none; for salvation, [but] it is far from us. read more.
For our transgressions have multiplied before You, and our sins testify against us. For our transgressions are with us, and we know our iniquities:


Therefore the Lord is waiting to show you mercy, and is rising up to show you compassion, for the Lord is a just God. Happy are all who wait patiently for Him. For you people will live on Zion in Jerusalem and will never cry again. He will show favor to you at the sound of your cry; when He hears, He will answer you. The Lord will give you meager bread and water during oppression, but your Teacher will not hide Himself any longer. Your eyes will see your Teacher, read more.
and whenever you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear this command behind you: "This is the way. Walk in it." Then you will defile your silver-plated idols and your gold-plated images. You will throw them away like menstrual cloths, and call them filth. Then He will send rain for your seed that you have sown in the ground, and the food, the produce of the ground, will be rich and plentiful. On that day your cattle will graze in open pastures. The oxen and donkeys that work the ground will eat salted fodder scattered with winnowing shovel and fork. Streams and watercourses will be on every high mountain and every raised hill on the day of great slaughter when the towers fall. The moonlight will be as bright as the sunlight, and the sunlight will be seven times brighter-like the light of seven days-on the day that the Lord bandages His people's injuries and heals the wounds He inflicted.


Leave Babylon,
flee from the Chaldeans!
Declare with a shout of joy,
proclaim this,
let it go out to the end of the earth;
announce,
“The Lord has redeemed His servant Jacob!”

The Lord says this to Cyrus, His anointed, whose right hand I have grasped to subdue nations before him, to unloose the loins of kings, to open the doors before him and the gates will not be shut: "I will go before you and level the uneven places; I will shatter the bronze doors and cut the iron bars in two. I will give you the treasures of darkness and riches from secret places, so that you may know that I, the Lord, the God of Israel call you by your name. read more.
I call you by your name, because of Jacob My servant and Israel My chosen one. I give a name to you, though you do not know Me. I am the Lord, and there is no other; there is no God but Me. I will strengthen you, though you do not know Me,


Woe to the rebellious children! [This is]*The bracketed text has been added for clarity. 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. They set out to go down to Egypt without asking My advice, in order to seek shelter under Pharaoh's protection and take refuge in Egypt's shadow. But Pharaoh's protection will become your shame, and refuge in Egypt's shadow your disgrace. read more.
For though his princes are at Zoan and his messengers reach as far as Hanes, everyone will be ashamed because of a people who can't help. They are of no benefit, they are no help; they are good for nothing but shame and reproach. An oracle about the animals of the Negev: Through a land of trouble and distress, of lioness and lion, of viper and flying serpent, they carry their wealth on the backs of donkeys and their treasures on the humps of camels, to a people who will not help them. Egypt's help is completely worthless; therefore, I call her: Rahab Who Just Sits. Go now, write it on a tablet in their presence and inscribe it on a scroll; it will be for the future, forever and ever. They are a rebellious people, deceptive children, children who do not obey the Lord's instruction. They say to the seers, "Do not see," and to the prophets, "Do not prophesy the truth to us. Tell us flattering things. Prophesy illusions. Get out of the way! Leave the pathway. Rid us of the Holy One of Israel." Therefore the Holy One of Israel says: "Because you have rejected this message and have trusted in oppression and deceit, and have depended on them, this iniquity of yours will be like a spreading breach, a bulge in a high wall whose collapse will come very suddenly. Its collapse will be like the shattering of a potter's jar, crushed to pieces, so that not even a fragment of pottery will be found among its shattered remains- no fragment large enough to take fire from a hearth or scoop water from a cistern." For the Lord God , the Holy One of Israel, has said: "You will be delivered by returning and resting; your strength will lie in quiet confidence. But you are not willing." You say, "No! We will escape on horses"- therefore you will escape!- and, "We will ride on fast horses"- but those who pursue you will be faster. One thousand [will flee] at the threat of one, at the threat of five you will flee, until you alone remain like a [solitary] pole on a mountaintop or a banner on a hill.

Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help and who depend on horses! They trust in the number of chariots and in the great strength of charioteers. They do not look to the Holy One of Israel and they do not seek the Lord's help. But He also is wise and brings disaster. He does not go back on what He says; He will rise up against the house of wicked men and against the allies of evildoers. Egyptians are men, not God; their horses are flesh, not spirit. When the Lord raises His hand [to strike], the helper will stumble and the helped will fall; both will perish together. read more.
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. Like hovering birds, so the Lord of Hosts will protect Jerusalem- by protecting [it], He will rescue [it], by sparing [it], He will deliver [it]. Return to the One the Israelites have greatly rebelled against.


For before the boy knows to reject what is bad and choose what is good, the land of the two kings you dread will be abandoned. The Lord will bring on you, your people, and the house of your father, such a time as has never been since Ephraim separated from Judah-the king of Assyria [is coming]. On that day the Lord will whistle to the fly that is at the farthest streams of the Nile and to the bee that is in the land of Assyria. read more.
All of them will come and settle in the steep ravines, in the clefts of the rocks, in all the thornbushes, and in all the water holes. On that day the Lord will use a razor hired from beyond the Euphrates River-the king of Assyria-to shave the head, the hair on the legs, and to remove the beard as well. On that day a man will raise a young cow and two sheep, and from the abundant milk they give he will eat butter, for every survivor in the land will eat butter and honey. And on that day every place where there were 1,000 vines, worth 1,000 pieces of silver, will become thorns and briers. A man will go there with bow and arrows because the whole land will be thorns and briers. You will not go to all the hills that were once tilled with a hoe, for fear of the thorns and briers. [Those hills] will be places for oxen to graze and for sheep to trample.

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of darkness, a light has dawned. You have enlarged the nation and increased its joy. [The people] have rejoiced before You as they rejoice at harvest time and as they rejoice when dividing spoils. For You have shattered their burdensome yoke and the rod on their shoulders, the staff of their oppressor, just as [You did] on the day of Midian. read more.
For the trampling boot of battle and the bloodied garments of war will be burned as fuel for the fire. For a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us, and the government will be on His shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.


This is what the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel says: Because of you, I will send to Babylon and bring all of them as fugitives, even the Chaldeans in the ships in which they rejoice. I am the Lord, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King. This is what the Lord says- who makes a way in the sea, and a path through surging waters, read more.
who brings out the chariot and horse, the army and the mighty one together (they lie down, they do not rise again; they are extinguished, quenched like a wick)-


For the Lord will have compassion on Jacob and will choose Israel again. He will settle them on their own land. The foreigner will join them and be united with the house of Jacob. The nations will escort Israel and bring it to its homeland. Then the house of Israel will possess them as male and female slaves in the Lord's land. They will make captives of their captors and will rule over their oppressors. When the Lord gives you rest from your pain, torment, and the hard labor you were forced to do, read more.
you will sing this song [of contempt] about the king of Babylon and say: How the oppressor has quieted down, and how the raging has become quiet! The Lord has broken the staff of the wicked, the scepter of the rulers. It struck the peoples in anger with unceasing blows. It subdued the nations in rage with relentless persecution. All the earth is calm and at rest; people shout with a ringing cry. Even the cypresses and the cedars of Lebanon rejoice over you: "Since you have been laid low, no woodcutter has come against us." Sheol below is eager to greet your coming. He stirs up the spirits of the departed for you- all the rulers of the earth. He makes all the kings of the nations rise from their thrones. They all respond to you, saying: "You too have become as weak as we are; you have become like us! Your splendor has been brought down to Sheol, [along with] the music of your harps. Maggots are spread out under you, and worms cover you." Shining morning star, how you have fallen from the heavens! You destroyer of nations, you have been cut down to the ground. You said to yourself: "I will ascend to the heavens; I will set up my throne above the stars of God. I will sit on the mount of the [gods'] assembly, in the remotest parts of the North. I will ascend above the highest clouds; I will make myself like the Most High." But you will be brought down to Sheol into the deepest regions of the Pit. Those who see you will stare at you; they will look closely at you: "Is this the man who caused the earth to tremble, who shook the kingdoms, who turned the world into a wilderness, who trampled its cities and would not release the prisoners to return home?" All the kings of the nations lie in splendor, each in his own tomb. But you are thrown out without a grave, like a worthless branch, covered by those slain with the sword and dumped into a rocky pit like a trampled corpse. You will not join them in burial, because you destroyed your land and slaughtered your own people. The offspring of evildoers will never be remembered. Prepare a place of slaughter for his sons, because of the iniquity of their fathers. They never rise up to possess a land or fill the surface of the earth with cities. "I will rise up against them"-the declaration of the Lord of Hosts-"and I will cut off from Babylon her reputation, remnant, offspring, and posterity"-the Lord's declaration. "I will make her a swampland and a region for wild animals, and I will sweep her away with a broom of destruction." [This is]*The bracketed text has been added for clarity. the declaration of the Lord of Hosts. The Lord of Hosts has sworn: As I have planned, so it will be; as I have purposed it, so it will happen. I will break Assyria in My land; I will tread him down on My mountain. Then his yoke will be taken from them, and his burden will be removed from their shoulders. This is the plan prepared for the whole earth, and this is the hand stretched out against all the nations. The Lord of Hosts Himself has planned it; therefore, who can stand in its way? It is His hand that is outstretched, so who can turn it back? In the year that King Ahaz died, this oracle came:



"Listen, you deaf! Look, you blind, so that you may see. Who is blind but My servant, or deaf like My messenger I am sending? Who is blind like [My] dedicated one, or blind like the servant of the Lord? Though seeing many things, you do not obey. Though [his] ears are open, he does not listen." read more.
The Lord was pleased, because of His righteousness, to magnify [His] instruction and make it glorious. But this is a people plundered and looted, all of them trapped in holes or imprisoned in dungeons. They have become plunder, with no one to rescue them, and loot, with no one saying "Give [it] back!" Who among you will pay attention to this? Let him listen and obey in the future. Who gave Jacob to the robber, and Israel to the plunderers? Was it not the Lord? Have we not sinned against Him? They were not willing to walk in His ways, and they would not listen to His instruction. So He poured out on Jacob His furious anger and the power of war. It surrounded him with fire, but he did not know [it]; it burned him, but he paid no attention.


On that day the branch of the Lord will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land will be the pride and glory of Israel's survivors. Whoever remains in Zion and whoever is left in Jerusalem will be called holy-all in Jerusalem who are destined to live- when the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and cleansed the bloodguilt from the heart of Jerusalem by a spirit of judgment and a spirit of burning. read more.
Then the Lord will create a cloud of smoke by day and a glowing flame of fire by night over the entire site of Mount Zion and over its assemblies. For there will be a canopy over all the glory, and there will be a booth for shade from heat by day, and a refuge and shelter from storm and rain.


"But Jacob, you have not called on Me, because, Israel, you have become weary of Me. You have not brought Me your sheep for burnt offerings or honored Me with your sacrifices. I have not burdened you with offerings or wearied you with incense. You have not bought Me aromatic cane with silver, or satisfied Me with the fat of your sacrifices. But you have burdened Me with your sins; you have wearied Me with your iniquities. read more.
"It is I who sweep away your transgressions for My own sake and remember your sins no more. Take Me to court; let us argue our case together. State your [case], so that you may be vindicated. Your first father sinned, and your mediators have rebelled against Me. So I defiled the officers of the sanctuary, and gave Jacob over to total destruction and Israel to abuse.


An oracle against Dumah: One calls to me from Seir, "Watchman, what is [left] of the night? Watchman, what is [left] of the night?" The watchman said, "Morning has come, and also night. If you want to ask, ask! Come back again."


On that day the deaf will hear the words of a document, and out of a deep darkness the eyes of the blind will see. The humble will have joy after joy in the Lord, and the poor people will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel. For the ruthless one will vanish, the scorner will disappear, and all those who lie in wait with evil intent will be killed- read more.
those who, with [their] speech, accuse a person of wrongdoing, who set a trap at the gate for the mediator, and without cause deprive the righteous of justice. Therefore, the Lord who redeemed Abraham says this about the house of Jacob: Jacob will no longer be ashamed and his face will no longer be pale. For when he sees his children, the work of My hands within his [nation], they will honor My name, they will honor the Holy One of Jacob and stand in awe of the God of Israel. Those who are confused will gain understanding and those who grumble will accept instruction.


An oracle against Arabia: You will camp for the night in the scrublands of the desert, you caravans of Dedanites. Bring water for the thirsty. The inhabitants of the land of Tema meet the refugees with food. For they have fled from swords, from the drawn sword, and from the bent bow, from the stress of battle. read more.
For the Lord said this to me: "Within one year, as a hired worker counts years, all the glory of Kedar will be gone. The remaining Kedarite archers will be few in number." For the Lord, the God of Israel, has spoken.


An oracle against the Valley of Vision: What's the matter with you? Why have all of you gone up to the rooftops? The noisy city, the jubilant town, is filled with revelry. Your dead did not die by the sword; they were not killed in battle. All your rulers have fled together, captured without a bow. All your fugitives were captured together; they had fled far away. read more.
Therefore I said, "Look away from me! Let me weep bitterly! Do not try to comfort me about the destruction of my dear people." For the Lord God of Hosts had a day of tumult, trampling, and bewilderment in the Valley of Vision- people shouting and crying to the mountains; Elam took up a quiver with chariots and horsemen, and Kir uncovered the shield. Your best valleys were full of chariots, and horsemen were positioned at the gates. He removed the defenses of Judah. On that day you looked to the weapons in the House of the Forest. You saw that there were many breaches in [the walls of] the city of David. You collected water from the lower pool. You counted the houses of Jerusalem so that you could tear them down to fortify the wall. You made a reservoir between the walls for the waters of the ancient pool, but you did not look to the One who made it, or consider the One who created it long ago. On that day the Lord God of Hosts called for weeping, for wailing, for shaven heads, and for the wearing of sackcloth. But look: joy and gladness, butchering of cattle, slaughtering of sheep, eating of meat, and drinking of wine- "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!" The Lord of Hosts has revealed [this] in my hearing: "This sin of yours will never be wiped out." The Lord God of Hosts has spoken. The Lord God of Hosts said: "Go to Shebna, that steward who is in charge of the palace, [and say to him:] What are you doing here? Who authorized you to carve out a tomb for yourself here, carving your tomb on the height and cutting a crypt for yourself out of rock? Look, young man! The Lord is about to shake you violently. He will take hold of you, wind you up into a ball, and sling you into a wide land. There you will die, and there your glorious chariots will be-a disgrace to the house of your lord. I will remove you from your office; you will be ousted from your position. "On that day I will call for my servant, Eliakim son of Hilkiah. I will clothe him with your robe and tie your sash around him. I will put your authority into his hand, and he will be like a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the House of Judah. I will place the key of the House of David on his shoulder; what he opens, no one can close; what he closes, no one can open.


The people did not turn to Him who struck them; they did not seek the Lord of Hosts. So the Lord cut off Israel's head and tail, palm branch and reed in a single day. The head is the elder, the honored one; the tail is the prophet, the lying teacher. read more.
The leaders of the people mislead [them], and those they mislead are swallowed up. Therefore the Lord does not rejoice over Israel's young men and has no compassion on its fatherless and widows, for everyone is a godless evildoer, and every mouth speaks folly. In all this, His anger is not removed, and His hand is still raised [to strike]. For wickedness burns like a fire that consumes thorns and briers and kindles the forest thickets so that they go up in a column of smoke. The land is scorched by the wrath of the Lord of Hosts, and the people are like fuel for the fire. No one has compassion on his brother. They carve [meat] on the right, but they are [still] hungry; they have eaten on the left, but they are [still] not satisfied. Each one eats the flesh of his own arm. Manasseh is with Ephraim, and Ephraim with Manasseh; together, both are against Judah. In all this, His anger is not removed, and His hand is still raised [to strike].


I am the Lord, and there is no other; there is no God but Me. I will strengthen you, though you do not know Me, so that all may know from the rising of the sun to its setting that there is no one but Me. I am the Lord, and there is no other. I form light and create darkness, I make success and create disaster; I, the Lord, do all these things. read more.
"Heavens, sprinkle from above, and let the skies shower righteousness. Let the earth open up that salvation sprout and righteousness spring up with it. I, the Lord, have created it. "Woe to the one who argues with his Maker- one clay pot among many. Does clay say to the one forming it: What are you making? Or does your work [say]: He has no hands? How absurd is the one who says to [his] father: What are you fathering? or to [his] mother: What are you giving birth to?" This is what the Lord, the Holy One of Israel and its Maker, says: "Ask Me what is to happen to My sons, and instruct Me about the work of My hands. I made the earth, and created man on it. It was My hands that stretched out the heavens, and I commanded all their host. I have raised him up in righteousness, and will level all roads for him. He will rebuild My city, and set My exiles free, not for a price or a bribe," says the Lord of Hosts. This is what the Lord says: The products of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush and the Sabeans, men of stature, will come over to you and will be yours; they will follow you, they will come over in chains; and bow down to you. They will confess to you: God is indeed with you, and there is no other; there is no other God. Yes, You are a God who hides Himself, God of Israel, Savior. All of them are put to shame, even humiliated; the makers of idols go in humiliation together. Israel will be saved by the Lord with an everlasting salvation; you will not be put to shame or humiliated for all eternity. For this is what the Lord says- God is the Creator of the heavens. He formed the earth and made it; He established it; He did not create it to be empty, [but] formed it to be inhabited- "I am the Lord, and there is no other. I have not spoken in secret, somewhere in a land of darkness. I did not say to the descendants of Jacob: Seek Me in a wasteland. I, the Lord, speak truthfully; I say what is right. "Come, gather together, and draw near, you fugitives of the nations. Those who carry their wooden idols, and pray to a god who cannot save, have no knowledge. Speak up and present [your case]- yes, let them take counsel together. Who predicted this long ago? Who announced it from ancient times? Was it not I, the Lord? There is no other God but Me, a righteous God and Savior; there is no one except Me. Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth. For I am God, and there is no other. By Myself I have sworn; Truth has gone from My mouth, a word that will not be revoked: Every knee will bow to Me, every tongue will swear allegiance. It will be said to Me: Only in the Lord is righteousness and strength." All who are incensed against Him will come to Him and be put to shame. All the descendants of Israel will be justified and find glory through the Lord.


These also stagger because of wine and stumble under the influence of beer: priest and prophet stagger because of beer, they are confused by wine. They stumble because of beer, they are muddled in [their] visions, they stumble in [their] judgments. Indeed, all their tables are covered with vomit; there is no place without a stench. Who is he trying to teach? Who is he trying to instruct? Infants [just] weaned from milk? Babies removed from the breast? read more.
For [he says]: "Law after law, law after law, line after line, line after line, a little here, a little there." So He will speak to this people with stammering speech and in a foreign language. He had said to them: "This is the place of rest, let the weary rest; this is the place of repose." But they would not listen. Then the word of the Lord came to them: "Law after law, law after law, line after line, line after line, a little here, a little there," so they go stumbling backwards, to be broken, trapped, and captured. Therefore hear the word of the Lord, you mockers who rule this people in Jerusalem. For you said, "We have cut a deal with Death, and we have made an agreement with Sheol; when the overwhelming scourge passes through, it will not touch us, because we have made falsehood our refuge and have hidden behind treachery." Therefore the Lord God said: "Look, I have laid a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; the one who believes will be unshakable. And I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the mason's level." Hail will sweep away the false refuge, and water will flood your hiding place. Your deal with Death will be dissolved, and your agreement with Sheol will not last. When the overwhelming scourge passes through, you will be trampled. Every time it passes through, it will carry you away; it will pass through every morning- every day and every night. Only terror will cause you to understand the message. Indeed, the bed is too short to stretch out on, and its cover too small to wrap up in. For the Lord will rise up as [He did] at Mount Perazim. He will rise in wrath, as at the valley of Gibeon, to do His work, His strange work, and to perform His task, His disturbing task. So now, do not mock, or your shackles will become stronger. Indeed, I have heard from the Lord God of Hosts a decree of destruction for the whole land. Listen and hear my voice. Pay attention and hear what I say. Does the plowman plow every day to plant seed? Does he [continuously] break up and cultivate the soil? When he has leveled its surface, does he not then scatter cumin and sow black cumin? He plants wheat in rows and barley in plots, with spelt as their border. His God teaches him order; He instructs him. Certainly black cumin is not threshed with a threshing board, and a cart wheel is not rolled over the cumin. But black cumin is beaten out with a stick, and cumin with a rod. Bread grain is crushed, but is not threshed endlessly. Though the wheel of [the farmer's] cart rumbles, his horses do not crush it. This also comes from the Lord of Hosts. He gives wonderful advice; He gives great wisdom.


Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger- the staff in their hands is My wrath. I will send him against a godless nation; I will command him [to go] against a people destined for My rage, to take spoils, to plunder, and to trample them down like clay in the streets. But this is not what he intends; this is not what he plans. It is his intent to destroy and to cut off many nations. read more.
For he says: Aren't all my commanders kings? Isn't Calno like Carchemish? Isn't Hamath like Arpad? Isn't Samaria like Damascus? As my hand seized the idolatrous kingdoms, whose idols exceeded those of Jerusalem and Samaria, and as I did to Samaria and its idols will I not also do to Jerusalem and its idols? But when the Lord finishes all His work against Mount Zion and Jerusalem, [He will say,] "I will punish the king of Assyria for his arrogant acts and the proud look in his eyes." For he said: I have done [this] by my own strength and wisdom, for I am clever. I abolished the borders of nations and plundered their treasures; like a mighty warrior, I subjugated the inhabitants. My hand has reached out, as if into a nest, to seize the wealth of the nations. Like one gathering abandoned eggs, I gathered the whole earth. No wing fluttered; no beak opened or chirped. Does an ax exalt itself above the one who chops with it? Does a saw magnify itself above the one who saws with it? As if a staff could wave those who lift it! As if a rod could lift what isn't wood! Therefore the Lord God of Hosts will inflict an emaciating disease on the well-fed of Assyria, and He will kindle a burning fire under its glory. Israel's Light will become a fire, and its Holy One, a flame. In one day it will burn up Assyria's thorns and thistles. He will completely destroy the glory of its forests and orchards as a sickness consumes a person. The remaining trees of its forest will be so few in number that a child could count them. On that day the remnant of Israel and the survivors of the house of Jacob will no longer depend on the one who struck them, but they will faithfully depend on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. The remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the Mighty God. Israel, even if your people were as numerous as the sand of the sea, [only] a remnant of them will return. Destruction has been decreed; justice overflows. For throughout the land the Lord God of Hosts is carrying out a destruction that was decreed. Therefore, the Lord God of Hosts says this: "My people who dwell in Zion, do not fear Assyria, though he strikes you with a rod and raises his staff over you as the Egyptians did. In just a little while My wrath will be spent and My anger will turn to their destruction." And the Lord of Hosts will brandish a whip against him as [He did when He] struck Midian at the rock of Oreb; and He will raise His staff over the sea as [He did] in Egypt. On that day his burden will fall from your shoulders, and his yoke from your neck. The yoke will be broken because of [his] fatness. Assyria has come to Aiath and has gone through Migron, storing his equipment at Michmash. They crossed over at the ford, saying, "We will spend the night at Geba." The people of Ramah are trembling; those at Gibeah of Saul have fled. Cry aloud, daughter of Gallim! Listen, Laishah! Anathoth is miserable. Madmenah has fled. The inhabitants of Gebim have sought refuge. Today he will stand at Nob, shaking his fist at the mountain of Daughter Zion, the hill of Jerusalem. Look, the Lord God of Hosts will chop off the branches with terrifying power, and the tall [trees] will be cut down, the high [trees] felled. He is clearing the thickets of the forest with an ax, and Lebanon with its majesty will fall.


Now this is what the Lord says- the One who created you, Jacob, and the One who formed you, Israel- "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine. I will be with you when you pass through the waters, and [when you pass] through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you. You will not be scorched when you walk through the fire, and the flame will not burn you. For I the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, and your Savior, give Egypt as a ransom for you, Cush and Seba in your place. read more.
Because you are precious in My sight and honored, and I love you, I will give human beings in your place, and peoples in place of your life. Do not fear, for I am with you; I will bring your descendants from the east, and gather you from the west. I will say to the north: Give [them] up! and to the south: Do not hold [them] back! Bring My sons from far away, and My daughters from the ends of the earth- everyone called by My name and created for My glory. I have formed him; indeed, I have made him." Bring out a people who are blind, yet have eyes, and are deaf, yet have ears. All the nations are gathered together, and the peoples are assembled. Who among them can declare this, and tell us the former things? Let them present their witnesses to vindicate [themselves], so that people may hear and say, "It is true." "You are My witnesses"- the Lord's declaration- "and My servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe Me and understand that I am He. No god was formed before Me, and there will be none after Me. I, I am the Lord, and there is no other Savior but Me. I alone declared, saved, and proclaimed- and not some foreign god among you. So you are My witnesses"- the Lord's declaration- "and I am God. Also, from today on I am He [alone], and no one can take [anything] from My hand. I act, and who can reverse it?"


Sheol below is eager to greet your coming. He stirs up the spirits of the departed for you- all the rulers of the earth. He makes all the kings of the nations rise from their thrones. They all respond to you, saying: "You too have become as weak as we are; you have become like us! Your splendor has been brought down to Sheol, [along with] the music of your harps. Maggots are spread out under you, and worms cover you." read more.
Shining morning star, how you have fallen from the heavens! You destroyer of nations, you have been cut down to the ground. You said to yourself: "I will ascend to the heavens; I will set up my throne above the stars of God. I will sit on the mount of the [gods'] assembly, in the remotest parts of the North. I will ascend above the highest clouds; I will make myself like the Most High." But you will be brought down to Sheol into the deepest regions of the Pit. Those who see you will stare at you; they will look closely at you: "Is this the man who caused the earth to tremble, who shook the kingdoms, who turned the world into a wilderness, who trampled its cities and would not release the prisoners to return home?" All the kings of the nations lie in splendor, each in his own tomb. But you are thrown out without a grave, like a worthless branch, covered by those slain with the sword and dumped into a rocky pit like a trampled corpse. You will not join them in burial, because you destroyed your land and slaughtered your own people. The offspring of evildoers will never be remembered. Prepare a place of slaughter for his sons, because of the iniquity of their fathers. They never rise up to possess a land or fill the surface of the earth with cities. "I will rise up against them"-the declaration of the Lord of Hosts-"and I will cut off from Babylon her reputation, remnant, offspring, and posterity"-the Lord's declaration. "I will make her a swampland and a region for wild animals, and I will sweep her away with a broom of destruction." [This is]*The bracketed text has been added for clarity. the declaration of the Lord of Hosts. The Lord of Hosts has sworn: As I have planned, so it will be; as I have purposed it, so it will happen. I will break Assyria in My land; I will tread him down on My mountain. Then his yoke will be taken from them, and his burden will be removed from their shoulders. This is the plan prepared for the whole earth, and this is the hand stretched out against all the nations. The Lord of Hosts Himself has planned it; therefore, who can stand in its way? It is His hand that is outstretched, so who can turn it back? In the year that King Ahaz died, this oracle came: Don't rejoice, all of you [in] Philistia, because the rod of the one who struck you is broken. For a viper will come out of the root of a snake, and from its egg comes a flying serpent. Then the firstborn of the poor will be well fed, and the impoverished will lie down in safety, but I will kill your root with hunger, and your remnant will be slain. Wail, you gates! Cry out, city! Tremble with fear, all Philistia! For a cloud of dust is coming from the north, and there is no one missing from [the invader's] ranks. What answer will be given to the messengers from that nation? The Lord has founded Zion, and His afflicted people find refuge in her.


Stop and be astonished; blind yourselves and be blind! They are drunk, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with beer. For the Lord has poured out on you an overwhelming urge to sleep; He has shut your eyes-the prophets, and covered your heads-the seers. For you the entire vision will be like the words of a sealed document. If it is given to one who can read and he is asked to read it, he will say, "I can't read it, because it is sealed." read more.
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." The Lord said: Because these people approach Me with their mouths to honor Me with lip-service- yet their hearts are far from Me, and their worship [consists of] man-made rules learned [by rote]- therefore I will again confound these people with wonder after wonder. The wisdom of their wise men will vanish, and the understanding of the perceptive will be hidden. Woe to those who go to great lengths to hide their plans from the Lord. [They do] their works in darkness, and say, "Who sees us? Who knows us?" You have turned things around, as if the potter were the same as the clay. How can what is made say about its maker, "He didn't make me"? How can what is formed say about the one who formed it, "He doesn't understand [what he's doing]"? Isn't [it true that] in just a little while Lebanon will become an orchard, and the orchard will seem like a forest?


An oracle against the desert by the sea: Like storms that pass over the Negev, it comes from the desert, from the land of terror. A troubling vision is declared to me: "The treacherous one acts treacherously, and the destroyer destroys. Advance, Elam! Lay siege, you Medes! I will put an end to all her groaning." Therefore I am filled with anguish. Pain grips me, like the pain of a woman in labor. I am too perplexed to hear, too dismayed to see. read more.
My heart staggers; horror terrifies me. He has turned my last glimmer of hope into sheer terror. Prepare a table, and spread out a carpet! Eat and drink! Rise up, you princes, and oil the shields! For the Lord has said to me, "Go, post a lookout; let him report what he sees. When he sees riders- pairs of horsemen, riders on donkeys, riders on camels- pay close attention." Then the lookout reported, "Lord, I stand on the watchtower all day, and I stay at my post all night. Look, riders come- horsemen in pairs." And he answered, saying, "Babylon has fallen, has fallen. All the idols of her gods have been shattered on the ground." My downtrodden and threshed people, I have declared to you what I have heard from the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel.


Woe to Ariel, Ariel, the city where David camped! Continue year after year; let the festivals recur. I will oppress Ariel, and there will be mourning and crying, and she will be to Me like an Ariel. I will camp in a circle around you; I will besiege you with earth ramps, and I will set up my siege towers against you. read more.
You will be brought down; you will speak from the ground, and your words will come from low in the dust. Your voice will be like that of a spirit from the ground; your speech will whisper from the dust. The multitude of your foes will be like fine dust, and the multitude of the ruthless, like blowing chaff. Then suddenly, in an instant, you will be visited by the Lord of Hosts with thunder, earthquake, and loud noise, storm, tempest, and a flame of consuming fire. The multitude of all the nations going out to battle against Ariel- all the attackers, the siege-works against her, and those who oppress her- will then be like a dream, a vision in 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 will be the multitude of all the nations who go to battle against Mount Zion.


For You have abandoned Your people, the house of Jacob, because they are full of [divination] from the East and of fortune-tellers like the Philistines. They are in league with foreigners. Their land is full of silver and gold, and there is no limit to their treasures; their land is full of horses, and there is no limit to their chariots. Their land is full of idols; they bow down to the work of their hands, to what their fingers have made. read more.
So humanity is brought low, and man is humbled. Do not forgive them! Go into the rocks and hide in the dust from the terror of the Lord and from His majestic splendor. Human pride will be humbled, and the loftiness of men will be brought low; the Lord alone will be exalted on that day. For a day belonging to the Lord of Hosts is [coming] against all that is proud and lofty, against all that is lifted up-it will be humbled- against all the cedars of Lebanon, lofty and lifted up, against all the oaks of Bashan, against all the high mountains, against all the lofty hills, against every high tower, against every fortified wall, against every ship of Tarshish, and against every splendid sea vessel. So human pride will be brought low, and the loftiness of men will be humbled; the Lord alone will be exalted on that day. The idols will vanish completely. People will go into caves in the rocks and holes in the ground, away from the terror of the Lord and from His majestic splendor, when He rises to terrify the earth. On that day people will throw their silver and gold idols, which they made to worship, to the moles and the bats.


I will sing about the one I love, a song about my loved one's vineyard: The one I love had a vineyard on a very fertile hill. He broke up the soil, cleared it of stones, and planted it with the finest vines. He built a tower in the middle of it and even hewed out a winepress there. He expected it to yield good grapes, but it yielded worthless grapes. So now, residents of Jerusalem and men of Judah, please judge between Me and My vineyard. read more.
What more could I have done for My vineyard than I did? Why, when I expected a yield of good grapes, did it yield worthless grapes? Now I will tell you what I am about to do to My vineyard: I will remove its hedge, and it will be consumed; I will tear down its wall, and it will be trampled. I will make it a wasteland. It will not be pruned or weeded; thorns and briers will grow up. I will also give orders to the clouds that rain should not fall on it. For the vineyard of the Lord of Hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah, the plant He delighted in. He looked for justice but saw injustice, for righteousness, but heard cries of wretchedness. Woe to those who add house to house and join field to field until there is no more room and you alone are left in the land. In my hearing the Lord of Hosts [has taken an oath]: Indeed, many houses will become desolate, grand and lovely ones without inhabitants. For a ten-acre vineyard will yield only six gallons, and 10 bushels of seed will yield only [one] bushel.


Woe to the majestic crown of Ephraim's drunkards, and to the fading flower of its beautiful splendor, which is on the summit above the rich valley. [Woe] to those overcome with wine. Look, the Lord has a strong and mighty one- like a devastating hail storm, like a storm with strong flooding waters. He will bring it across the land with [His] hand. The majestic crown of Ephraim's drunkards will be trampled underfoot. read more.
The fading flower of his beautiful splendor, which is on the summit above the rich valley, will be like a ripe fig before the summer harvest. Whoever sees it will swallow it while it is still in his hand. On that day the Lord of Hosts will become a crown of beauty and a diadem of splendor to the remnant of His people,


This took place during the reign of Ahaz, son of Jotham, son of Uzziah king of Judah: Rezin king of Aram, along with Pekah, son of Remaliah, king of Israel, waged war against Jerusalem, but he could not succeed. When it became known to the house of David that Aram had occupied Ephraim, the heart of Ahaz and the hearts of his people trembled like trees of a forest shaking in a wind. Then the Lord said to Isaiah, "Go out with your son Shear-jashub to meet Ahaz at the end of the conduit of the upper pool, by the road to the Fuller's Field. read more.
Say to him: Calm down and be quiet. Don't be afraid or fainthearted because of these two smoldering stubs of firebrands, Rezin of Aram, and the son of Remaliah. For Aram, along with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, has plotted harm against you. They say: Let us go up against Judah, terrorize it, and conquer it for ourselves. Then we can install Tabeel's son as king in it." This is what the Lord God says: It will not happen; it will not occur. The head of Aram is Damascus, the head of Damascus is Rezin (within 65 years Ephraim will be too shattered to be a people), the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. If you do not stand firm in your faith, then you will not stand at all. Then the Lord spoke again to Ahaz: "Ask for a sign from the Lord your God-from the depths of Sheol to the heights of heaven." But Ahaz replied, "I will not ask. I will not test the Lord." Isaiah said, "Listen, house of David! Is it not enough for you to try the patience of men? Will you also try the patience of my God? Therefore, the Lord Himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive, have a son, and name him Immanuel. By the time he learns to reject what is bad and choose what is good, he will be eating butter and honey. For before the boy knows to reject what is bad and choose what is good, the land of the two kings you dread will be abandoned.


On that day the Lord of Hosts will become a crown of beauty and a diadem of splendor to the remnant of His people, a spirit of justice to the one who sits in judgment, and strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate.


The Lord sent a message against Jacob; it came against Israel. All the people- Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria-will know it. They will say with pride and arrogance: "The bricks have fallen, but we will rebuild with cut stones; the sycamores have been cut down, but we will replace them with cedars." read more.
The Lord has raised up Rezin's adversaries against him and stirred up his enemies. Aram from the east and Philistia from the west have consumed Israel with open mouths. In all this, His anger is not removed, and His hand is still raised [to strike].


Woe to those enacting crooked statutes and writing oppressive laws to keep the poor from getting a fair trial and to deprive the afflicted among my people of justice, so that widows can be their spoil and they can plunder the fatherless. What will you do on the day of punishment when devastation comes from far away? Who will you run to for help? Where will you leave your wealth? read more.
[There will be nothing to do] except crouch among the prisoners or fall among the slain. In all this, His anger is not removed, and His hand is still raised [to strike].


Woe to those who add house to house and join field to field until there is no more room and you alone are left in the land. In my hearing the Lord of Hosts [has taken an oath]: Indeed, many houses will become desolate, grand and lovely ones without inhabitants. For a ten-acre vineyard will yield only six gallons, and 10 bushels of seed will yield only [one] bushel. read more.
Woe to those who rise early in the morning in pursuit of beer, who linger into the evening, inflamed by wine. At their feasts they have lyre, harp, tambourine, flute, and wine. They do not perceive the Lord's actions, and they do not see the work of His hands. Therefore My people go into exile because they lack knowledge; the dignitaries are starving, and the masses are parched with thirst. Therefore Sheol enlarges its throat and opens wide its enormous jaws, and down go Zion's dignitaries, her masses, her crowds, and those who carouse in her! Humanity is brought low, man is humbled, and haughty eyes are humbled. But the Lord of Hosts is exalted by His justice, and the holy God is distinguished by righteousness. Lambs will graze as [if in] their own pastures, and strangers will eat [among] the ruins of the rich. Woe to those who drag wickedness with cords of deceit and [pull] sin along with cart ropes, to those who say: "Let Him hurry up and do His work quickly so that we can see it! Let the plan of the Holy One of Israel take place so that we can know it!" Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness, who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. Woe to those who are wise in their own opinion and clever in their own sight. Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine, who are fearless at mixing beer, who acquit the guilty for a bribe and deprive the innocent of justice. Therefore, as a tongue of fire consumes straw and as dry grass shrivels in the flame, so their roots will become like something rotten and their blossoms will blow away like dust, for they have rejected the instruction of the Lord of Hosts, and they have despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. Therefore the Lord's anger burns against His people. He raised His hand against them and struck them; the mountains quaked, and their corpses were like garbage in the streets. In all this, His anger is not removed, and His hand is still raised [to strike]. He raises a signal flag for the distant nations and whistles for them from the ends of the earth. Look-how quickly and swiftly they come! None of them grows weary or stumbles; no one slumbers or sleeps. No belt is loose, and no sandal strap broken. Their arrows are sharpened, and all their bows strung. Their horses' hooves are like flint; their [chariot] wheels are like a whirlwind. Their roaring is like a lion's; they roar like young lions; they growl and seize their prey and carry [it] off, and no one can rescue [it]. On that day they will roar over it, like the roaring of the sea. When one looks at the land, there will be darkness and distress; light will be obscured by clouds.


This is what the Lord says: Preserve justice and do what is right, for My salvation is coming soon, and My righteousness will be revealed. Happy is the man who does this, anyone who maintains this, who keeps the Sabbath without desecrating it, and keeps his hand from doing any evil. No foreigner who has converted to the Lord should say, "The Lord will exclude me from His people"; and the eunuch should not say, "Look, I am a dried-up tree." read more.
For the Lord says this: "For the eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths, and choose what pleases Me, and hold firmly to My covenant, I will give them, in My house and within My walls, a memorial and a name better than sons and daughters. I will give each [of them] an everlasting name that will never be cut off. And the foreigners who convert to the Lord, minister to Him, love the Lord's name, and are His servants, all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it, and who hold firmly to My covenant- I will bring them to My holy mountain and let them rejoice in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be acceptable on My altar, for My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations." [This is] the declaration of the Lord God , who gathers the dispersed of Israel: "I will gather to them still others besides those already gathered."




Nevertheless, the gloom of the distressed land will not be like that of the former times when He humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali. But in the future He will bring honor to the Way of the Sea, to the land east of the Jordan, and to Galilee of the nations. The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of darkness, a light has dawned. You have enlarged the nation and increased its joy. [The people] have rejoiced before You as they rejoice at harvest time and as they rejoice when dividing spoils. read more.
For You have shattered their burdensome yoke and the rod on their shoulders, the staff of their oppressor, just as [You did] on the day of Midian. For the trampling boot of battle and the bloodied garments of war will be burned as fuel for the fire. For a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us, and the government will be on His shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. The dominion will be vast, and its prosperity will never end. He will reign on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish and sustain it with justice and righteousness from now on and forever. The zeal of the Lord of Hosts will accomplish this.










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