eng_aiv Amundson Interpretive Version Isaiah Isaiah Isaiah Isa Isaiah id=eng_aiv name=Amundson Interpretive Version (AIV) status=draft spec=USFM-USX 3.1.1 export=2026-11-02 char:add=translator-addition-italic char:wj=words-of-Jesus-as-received-unmapped note:f=footnotes para:r=parallel-passage-references para:d=psalm-superscriptions Judah’s Rebellion (2 Chronicles 28:5–15) The vision of Isaiah son of Amoz that he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth, for YHWH has spoken: “Sons I have brought up and raised up, and they have rebelled against Me. An ox has known his owner and a donkey the trough of its master; Israel has not known; my people have not understood.” Alas, O sinning nation, a people heavy with iniquity, a seed doing evil, sons bringing corruption! They have forsaken YHWH, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they have become estranged backward. For what should you⁺ be struck still? Should you⁺ continue in rebellion? The whole head is sick, and the whole heart is faint. From the sole of the foot and to the head, no soundness is in it— wounds and fresh stripes and blows; they have not been pressed and not bound up and not soothed with oil. Your⁺ land is a desolation, your⁺ cities burnt with fire, your⁺ ground in front of you⁺, strangers devour it, and it is a desolation, as overthrown by strangers. And the daughter of Zion has been left like a shelter in a vineyard, like a lodge in a cucumber field, like a city besieged. Unless YHWH of Hosts had left to us a very small remnant, we would have become like Sodom, we would have resembled Gomorrah.1.9 LXX had left us descendants 1.9 Cited in Romans 9:29 Meaningless Offerings Hear the word of YHWH, chiefs of Sodom; give ear to the Instruction of our God, people of Gomorrah! “What to Me is the multitude of your⁺ sacrifices?” Says YHWH. “I have had my fill of burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of well-fed cattle, and in the blood of bulls and lambs and he-goats I take no delight. When you⁺ come to appear before My face, who has sought this from your⁺ hand, to trample My courts? You⁺ shall not add to bring an offering of worthlessness; incense, it is an abomination to Me, New Moons and Sabbaths and the calling of assemblies— I cannot endure iniquity, in a solemn assembly! Your⁺ New Moons and your⁺ appointed feasts, My soul hates; they are to Me as a burden; I am weary of bearing them. And in your⁺ spreading forth your⁺ hands, I will hide My eyes from you⁺; even though you⁺ multiply prayers, I will not be listening. Your⁺ hands are full of blood! Wash, cleanse yourselves; turn aside the evil of your⁺ deeds from before My eyes. Cease to do evil. Learn to do good, seek justice, rebuke the oppressor,1.17 Or encourage the oppressed bring justice for the fatherless, contend for the widow.” “Come now, and let us reason together,” says YHWH. “Though your⁺ sins may be like scarlet, they will be white like snow; though they are red like crimson, they will become like wool. If you⁺ are willing and obey, then the good of the land you⁺ will eat. And if you⁺ refuse and rebel, by the sword you⁺ will be devoured.” For the mouth of YHWH has spoken. The Corruption of Zion How the faithful city has become like a prostitute! She was full of justice, righteousness lodged with her— and now murderers are there! Your silver has become as dross, your wine is weakened with water. Your princes are rebels and companions of thieves, everyone is loving a bribe and pursuing rewards. The fatherless they do not defend and the case of the widow does not come to them. Thus is the declaration of the Lord YHWH of hosts, the Mighty One of Israel: “Ah, I will be relieved of My adversaries, and avenge Myself on My enemies. And I will turn My hand against you and will refine as with lye your dross, and I will turn aside all your alloys. And I will restore your judges as at the first, and your counselors as at the beginning. After this it shall be called for you the city of righteousness— the Faithful City.” Zion with justice shall be redeemed, and her repentant ones with righteousness. And the breaking of rebels and sinners will be together, and those abandoning YHWH will be consumed. For they will be ashamed of the Oaks that you⁺ have desired, and you⁺ will be embarrassed by the gardens that you⁺ have chosen. For you⁺ will be like an oak at the withering of its leaf, and a garden for which there is no water. And the strong one will become as tinder, and his work as a spark, and both of them will burn together, and none will quench them! The Mountain of the House of Yahweh (Micah 4:1–5) The word that Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem: And it shall come to pass at the end of the days, the mountain of the house of YHWH will be established at the top of the mountains, and it will be lifted up above the hills, and all the nations will flow to it. And many people will come and say, “Come and let us go up to the mountain of YHWH, to the house of the God of Jacob; and He will teach us His ways, and we will walk in His paths.” For the law will go forth from Zion, and the Word of YHWH from Jerusalem. And He will judge between the nations and will give rebuke to many peoples, and they will beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will no longer lift up a sword against nation, and will not they learn any more war. The Day of Reckoning O House of Jacob, come, and let us walk in the light of YHWH. For You have left Your people, the house of Jacob, because they are filled from the east, and they practice divination like the Philistines, and with the sons of foreigners they strike hands. And its land is full of silver and gold, and there is no end to the treasure. And its land is full of horses, and there is no end to the chariots. And its land is full of idols; to the work of the hands they bow down— to that which its fingers have made. And mankind is bent down, each man abases himself— do not forgive them! Enter into the rock and hide yourself in the dust, from the dread of YHWH and from the glory of His majesty. The haughtiness of the eyes of man will be brought low, and the loftiness of men will be bent down. And YHWH alone will be exalted in that day. For the day of YHWH of hosts is upon everything proud and lofty, and upon everything lifted up— and it will be brought low— and upon all the cedars of Lebanon, those being high and lifted up, and upon all the Oaks of Bashan, and upon all on the mountains that are high, and upon all on the hills that are lifted up, and upon every high tower, and upon every fortified wall, and upon all the ships of Tarshish,2.16 Or all the ships of trade and upon all the desirable vessels. And the haughtiness of man will be bent down, and the loftiness of men will be brought low, and YHWH alone will be exalted in that day— and the idols utterly will pass away. And they will go into the caves of rocks, and into the holes of the earth, from the face of the dread of YHWH and the glory of His majesty, in His rising to shake the earth. In that day man will throw away the idols of his silver, and idols of his gold, which they made, each for himself, to bow down to diggers of holes and to the bats, to go into the crevices of the rocks, and into the clefts of the cliffs, before the face of the dread of YHWH and the glory of His majesty, in His rising to shake the earth. Cease yourselves from man, whose breath is in his nostril, for of what account is he? Judgment on Jerusalem and Judah For behold, the Lord YHWH of hosts is turning away from Jerusalem and from Judah the staff3.1 Or supply and support— the whole staff of bread, and the whole staff of water— the mighty one and the man of war, the judge and the prophet, and the diviner and the elder, the captain of fifty, and the lifted up of faces, and the counselor, and the cunning magician, and the discerning charmer. “And I will give youths as their princes, and infants will rule over them.” And the people will be oppressed, each man by a man and each man by his neighbor; the child will rage against the elder, and the one despised against the honored. For a man will take hold on his brother in the house of his father: “A cloak is unto you—the chief you will be for us, and this heap of ruins is under your hand;” he will lift up in that day to say, “I will not be one binding wounds, and in my house there is no bread and no garment; you⁺ shall not set me as chief of the people.” For Jerusalem has stumbled, and Judah has fallen, because their tongue and their deeds are against YHWH, defying the eyes of His glory. The look of their faces answers against them, and their sin like Sodom they declare— they do not hide it! Woe to their soul, for they have brought evil upon themselves. Say to the righteous that it is good, for the fruit of their deeds they will eat. Woe to the wicked—evil; for the recompense of his hands will be done to him! My people—their oppressors are foolish children, and women rule over them. O My people, those who guide you lead you astray, and the way of your paths they have swallowed up. YHWH Is taking His stand to contend, and is standing to judge the peoples. YHWH will enter into judgment with the elders of His people and His princes: “And you⁺—you⁺ have consumed the vineyard; the plunder of the poor is in your⁺ houses. Why do you crush My people, and grind the faces of the poor?” A declaration of the Lord YHWH of hosts. A Warning to the Daughters of Zion And says YHWH: “Because that the daughters of Zion are haughty, and they walk with outstretched neck and wanton eyes, walking and skipping as they go, and with their feet jingling, and the Lord will bring scabs to the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and YHWH will make their foreheads bare.3.17 Or will uncover their secret parts That in the day the Lord will turn away the beauty of the anklets and the headbands, and the crescents, the pendants, and the bracelets, and the veils, the headdresses, and the armlets, and the sashes, and the boxes of perfume, and the charms, the signet rings, and nose rings, the festive robes, and the tunics, and the cloaks, and the purses, and the mirrors, and the linen garments, and the turbans, and the veils. And it will come to pass, instead of spice, that there will be rottenness; and instead of a belt, a rope; and instead of worked hair, baldness; and instead of a fine robe, a girding of sackcloth; and shame3.24 DSS; MT branding instead of beauty. Your men will fall by the sword, and your mighty ones in battle; and her gates will lament and mourn and she will be left empty—on the ground she will sit. A Remnant in Zion Seven women will take hold of one of man in that day, saying, “Our own bread we will eat and our own garment we will wear; only let your name be called over us. Remove our reproach.” That in the day will be the Branch of YHWH for beauty and for honor, and the fruit of the earth for pride and for glory to the escaped of Israel. And it will come to pass that the remainder in Zion, and the leftover in Jerusalem, holy will be called to him— everyone who is written for life in Jerusalem— when the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and the blood of Jerusalem He has cleansed from within her, by the spirit of judgment and by the spirit of burning. And YHWH will create over all the foundation of Mount Zion, and over her assemblies, a cloud by day, and smoke, and the shining of a flaming fire by night; for over all of the glory will be a canopy. And a covered shelter there will be for shade by day from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a hiding place, from the storm and from the rain. The Song of the Vineyard (Luke 13:6–9) Let me sing now for my beloved, a song of my beloved regarding his vineyard: Unto my beloved there was a vineyard, a son of fatness on a hill. And he dug it and cleared it of stones, and he planted it with the choicest vine; and he built a tower in its midst, and also a winepress he hewed out in it. And he waited for it to make grapes, and it made wild grapes. “And now, O dweller of Jerusalem and man of Judah, judge please, between Me and between My vineyard. What could have been done more for My vineyard, that I have not done in it? Why—I waited for it to make grapes— and it made wild grapes? And now I will let you⁺ know what I am going to do to My vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it will be consumed and the breaking down of its wall, and it will be free for trampling. And I will set it as a waste— it will not be pruned nor hoed, and there will come up brier and thorn; and also the clouds I will command against raining on it with rain.” For the vineyard of YHWH of Hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are the plant of His delight; and He looked for justice, and behold, bloodshed— for righteousness, and behold, outcry. Woes to the Wicked Woe to those joining house to house; field to field they bring near, until there is no place to stand, and you⁺ are made to dwell by yourselves alone in the midst of the land! In my hearing, YHWH of Hosts says: “Surely many houses will be a desolation— great and beautiful ones without one dwelling! For a ten yoke vineyard will yield one bath,5.10 Or ten acres of vineyard will yield one bath; ten yoke is the area ten yoke of oxen can plow in a day; one bath is approximately 5.8 gallons or 22 liters of wine. and a homer of seed will yield an ephah.5.10 That is, a homer of seed (approximately 6.24 bushels or 220 liters) will yield a tenth of its weight (an ephah) in grain. Woe to those rising early in the morning to pursue strong drink, tarrying into the twilight as wine inflames them! Are the lyre and harp and tambourine, and flute and wine, are at their feasts; and the work of YHWH they do not regard, and the work of His hands they do not see. Therefore my people have gone into captivity from lack of knowledge; and its honored men go hungry, and its multitude is parched with thirst. Therefore Sheol has enlarged her soul and has opened her mouth beyond measure; her nobles will go down— and her crowd and her revelers and exulting—into her. And mankind is bent down, and each man is brought low, and the eyes of the haughty will be brought down. YHWH of Hosts will be exalted in justice, and the Holy God will show Himself holy in righteousness. And the lambs will graze as in their pasture, and in the waste places of the fat ones, sojourners5.17 LXX lambs will eat. Woe to those drawing out iniquity with cords of falsehood, and sin with a rope of the cart, saying, “Let Him hurry, let Him hurry His work, that we may see it! Let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw near and come, that we may know it!” Woe to those saying to evil “Good,” and to good “Evil,” putting darkness for light and light for darkness, putting bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! Woe to the wise ones in their own eyes, and before their own faces discerning. Woe to the mighty at drinking wine and men of strength in mixing strong drink, those declaring right the wicked for a bribe, and justice for the righteous ones they turn aside from him. Therefore as the tongue of fire devours the chaff and the flame consumes the stubble, their root will be as rottenness, and their blossom will go up like dust, because they have rejected the instruction of YHWH of hosts, and the Word of the Holy One of Israel they have despised. Thus the anger of YHWH burns against His people; and therefore He has stretched out His hand against them and struck them, and the hills trembled; and their carcasses became like refuse in the midst of the streets. In all this, His anger is not turned away, and still His hand is stretched out. And He will lift up a signal for the nations from afar, and He will whistle to them from the end of the earth— and behold, swiftly with haste it will come! No one will be weary nor stumbling among them; he will not will he slumber and not sleep, and not will be loosed the girdle of his loins, and not will be broken the strap of his sandals— whose arrows are sharp, and all his bows bent; the hooves of his horses like flint are reckoned, and his wheels like a whirlwind. The roaring of him is like a lion— he roars like the young lions, and growls and seizes prey and carries it away safely, and there is no one delivering. And he will roar over it that on the day, like the roaring of the sea. And one looks over the land, and behold, darkness and distress, and the light is darkened by its clouds. Isaiah’s Commission (Matthew 13:10–17; Mark 4:10–12; Acts 28:16–31) And in the year of the death of King Uzziah, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne being high and lifted up, and his train6.1 Or the hem of His robe was filling the temple. Seraphim stood above Him, with six wings for each—six wings—with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And this one cried to this one and said: “Holy, holy, holy is YHWH of Hosts; the fullness of all the earth is His glory!” And the posts of the doors were shaken from the voice of the one calling, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said, “Woe to me, for I am finished! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I am dwelling in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for the King YHWH of Hosts, my eyes have seen!” And flew to me one from the seraphim, and in his hand was a hot coal he had taken from the altar with tongs. And he touched it upon my mouth and said, “Behold, this has touched upon your lips; and is turned aside your iniquity, and your sin is wiped away.” And I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom will I send, and who will go for Us?” And I said “Here am I—send me!” And He said, “Go and say to the people this: ‘Be ever hearing and never understanding, and be ever seeing and never knowing.’ 6.9 Hebrew; LXX ‘You shall be ever hearing, but never understanding; you shall be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’ Cited in Matthew 13:14, Mark 4:12, Luke 8:10, and Acts 28:26 Fatten the heart of this people, and its ears make heavy and its eyes shut, lest it see with its eyes, hear and with its ears, and understand with its heart, and turn back and there be healing for it. 6.10 Hebrew; LXX For this people’s heart has grown callous; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn, and I would heal them. Cited in Matthew 13:15, Mark 4:12, John 12:40, and Acts 28:27 And I said, “Until when, O Lord?” And He answered, “Until when the cities lie in ruins without one dwelling, and the houses without man, and the land lies in ruins as a desolation, and YHWH has removed man far away, and are many the forsaken places in the midst of the land. And still are in it a tenth, and will it return and be for burning, like the terebinth and oak that in falling is a stump in them. The seed of holiness is its stump.” A Message to Ahaz And it came to pass in the days of Ahaz son of Jotham, son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that came up Rezin king of Aram,7.1 That is, Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah, king of Israel, to Jerusalem to war against it. He was not able to fight against it. And it was declared to the house of David, saying, Aram has rested itself upon Ephraim.7.2 Or Aram has set up camp in Ephraim, that is, the northern kingdom of Israel His heart and the heart of his people was shaken, as are shaken the trees of the forest from the face of the wind. And YHWH said to Isaiah, “Go out now to meet Ahaz, you and Shear-jashub your son, toward the end of the conduit of the upper pool, toward the road of the Field of the Washer. 7.3 Shear-jashub means a remnant shall return. And say to him: Take heed and be quiet. Do not be afraid and do not be soft because of these two stubs of smoldering firebrands, with the burning of the anger of Rezin and Aram and the son of Remaliah, because indeed Aram has plotted evil against you, with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, saying, ‘Let us go up against Judah and treat it with contempt and split it apart unto ourselves,7.6 Or and divide it among ourselves and in its midst we will make the son of Tabeal reign as king.’ Thus says the Lord YHWH: ‘It will not stand, and it will not come to pass. For the head of Aram is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin, and within sixty-five years Ephraim will be shattered as a people. And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. If you⁺ do not stand firm in faith, surely you⁺ will not stand firm.’” The Sign of Immanuel (Matthew 1:18–25) And YHWH continued to speak to Ahaz, saying, “Ask for yourself a sign from YHWH your God; make the request deep, or make it high above.” And Ahaz said, “I will not ask, and I will not test YHWH.” And he said, “Hear now, O house of David: Is it a small thing for you⁺ to weary men, that you⁺ would also weary my God? Therefore the Lord Himself will give to you⁺ a sign: Behold the virgin is conceiving and is bringing forth a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.7.14 Or young woman 7.14 Immanuel means God with us; DSS and His name will be called Immanuel or and He will call His name Immanuel; LXX and you will call His name Immanuel; cited in Matthew 1:23. Curds and honey he will eat, when he knows to refuse the evil and to choose the good. For before the youth knows to reject the evil and to choose the good, the land that you dread will be forsaken because of the two of her kings. Judgment to Come (Micah 1:1–7) YHWH will bring upon you and upon your people and upon the house of your father days that have not come since the day of the turning away of Ephraim from Judah—the king of Assyria!” And it will come to pass in that day, that YHWH will whistle for the fly that is at the farthest of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria. And they will come and all of them will rest in the desolate valleys and in holes of the rocks, and on all the thorns and on all the watering holes. In that day the Lord will shave with a razor that is hired—with those beyond the River,7.20 That is, the Euphrates with the king of Assyria—the head and the hair of the legs and also the beard He will sweep away. And it will come to pass in that day, that a man will keep alive a young cow of the herd and two sheep. And it will come to pass from the abundance of producing milk, that he will eat curds—for everyone remaining in the midst of the land will eat curds and honey. And it will come to pass in that day that there will be in every place where there are a thousand vines at a thousand of silver7.23 A thousand (pieces) of silver is approximately 25.1 pounds or 11.4 kilograms of silver—there will be briers and thorns. He comes there with arrows and with the bow, for all the land will become briers and thorns. And all the hills that are kept in order with the hoe there, you will no longer go for fear of brier and thorn; and it will become for the sending forth of cattle and for the treading of sheep. Assyrian Invasion Prophesied And YHWH said to me, “Take for yourself a large scroll and write on it with a pen of man: Maher-shalal-hash-baz.8.1 Maher-shalal-hash-baz means The spoil speeds, the prey hastens or Swift to plunder, quick to carry away; also in verse 3. And I will appoint for Myself faithful witnesses—Uriah the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberekiah.” And I came near to the prophetess, and she conceived and gave birth to a son. And YHWH said to me, “Call his name Maher-shalal-hash-baz— for before the child knows to cry, ‘My father and My mother,’ one will lift away the wealth of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria before the face of the king of Assyria!” And YHWH continued to speak to me again, saying, “Because that this people has rejected the waters of Shiloah, those going gently, and are rejoicing with Rezin and the son of Remaliah, therefore, behold! The Lord is bringing up over them the waters of the River8.7 That is, the Euphrates mighty and great— the king of Assyria and all his glory— and it will go up over all its channels and it will go over all its banks, and it will pass on into Judah, overflowing and passing over— reaching to the neck; and the stretching out of its wings and is the fullness of the breadth of your land, O Immanuel! 8.8 Immanuel means God with us. Join together,8.9 Or Raise the war cry or Be evil or Be broken O peoples, and be shattered! And give ear, all you distant lands— Gird yourselves and be shattered, gird yourselves and be shattered! Take counsel—counsel—and it will be broken; speak a word; it will not stand, for God is with us. 8.10 Hebrew Immanuel; see Matthew 1:23. A Call to Fear God (Ecclesiastes 8:10–13) For thus YHWH spoke to me, with a strong hand, and He admonished me from walking in the way of this people, saying: “You⁺ shall not say conspiracy to everything that this people says is conspiracy; and its fear you⁺ should not fear, and you should not dread.8.12 Or Do not fear their threats 8.12 LXX do not be shaken; cited in 1 Peter 3:14 YHWH of Hosts— Him You⁺ shall sanctify, and He is your⁺ Fear, and He is your⁺ Dread. And He be for a sanctuary, and for a stone of striking and for a rock of falling for the two houses of Israel, for a trap and for a snare for those dwelling in Jerusalem! 8.14 Cited in Romans 9:33 and 1 Peter 2:8 And many will stumble over them, and they will fall and be broken and be snared and captured.” Bind up the testimony, and seal the law among my disciples. And I will wait for YHWH, the One hiding His face from the house of Jacob, and I will hope in Him. 8.17 Or I will eagerly look for Him; cited in Hebrews 2:13 Here am I and the children whom YHWH has given to me as signs and as wonders in Israel, from YHWH of Hosts, the One dwelling on Mount Zion. 8.18 Cited in Hebrews 2:13 Darkness and Light And when they say to you⁺, “Seek after the spirits and after the spiritists who whisper and mutter—” a people should not seek after its gods, on behalf of the living unto the dead, to the law and to the testimony? If they do not speak this according to the word, it is because there is not in them dawn. And he will pass over into it hard pressed and hungry, and it will be that when he is hungry and becomes angry, that he will think little of his king and of his gods, and he will turn upward, and will look to the earth, and behold—distress and darkness, gloom of anguish, and he will be driven away into the dark. Unto Us a Child Is Born (Matthew 4:12–17; Mark 1:14–15; Luke 4:14–15) But there is no gloom for the one who is in distress herself. In an earlier time He treated lightly the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward He will honor the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. The people who are walking in the darkness have seen a great light; for those sitting in the land of the shadow of death, a light has shone upon them.9.2 Cited in Matthew 4:15–16 You have multiplied the nation. Have you not have increased the joy? They rejoice before Your face according to the joy of the harvest, like those who rejoice in dividing the plunder. For the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder— the rod of one pressing on him— You have broken as on the day of Midian. For every boot treading with quaking, and the garment rolled in blood, will be for burning, as fuel for fire. For a child has been born unto us, a son has been given unto us, and the government will be upon his shoulder. And his name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace will be no end, over the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and sustain it with justice and with righteousness from now and even to forever. The zeal of YHWH of Hosts will accomplish this. Judgment against Israel’s Pride YHWH has sent a word against Jacob, and it has fallen upon Israel; and the people will know all of it— Ephraim9.9 That is, the northern kingdom of Israel and the one dwelling in Samaria— in pride arrogance of heart they will say: “The bricks have fallen down, and with hewn stone we will rebuild; the sycamores are cut down, and with cedars we will replace them.” And YHWH raises up the adversaries of Rezin against him and his enemies He joins together, Aram9.12 That is, Syria from the east and Philistia from the west, and they will devour Israel with a whole mouth. In all this, His anger is not turned back and still His hand is stretched out. Judgment against Israel’s Hypocrisy And the people did not turn to the One striking it, and YHWH of Hosts they did not seek. And YHWH will cut off from Israel the head and tail, palm branch and reed, in a single day. The elder and the uplifted of face—he is the head; and the prophet teaching lies—he is the tail. The guides for this people mislead them, and those they mislead are being swallowed up. Upon thus YHWH does not rejoice in its young men, and on its fatherless and widows He has no compassion, for everyone is godless and an evildoer, and every mouth speaks foolishness. In all this His anger is not turned away and still His hand is stretched out. Judgment against Israel’s Unrepentance For wickedness burns as the fire, and it will devour brier and thorn; and it is kindled in the thickets of the forest, and they mount up in a rising of smoke. By the wrath of YHWH of hosts the land is scorched, and the people are fuel for the fire; a man has no pity upon his brother. And one cuts down on the right, and is hungry, and he eats on the left, and they have not been satisfied; each man devours the flesh of his own arm.9.20 Or of his own offspring Manasseh Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh— together they are against Judah. In all this His anger has not turned back, and still His hand is stretched out. Woe to Tyrants Woe to those decreeing decrees of iniquity and writers writing perverseness, to turn aside justness from the poor, and to tear away justice from the lowly of My people, that widows may be their prey, and fatherless their plunder! And what will you⁺ do in the day of reckoning, and at the desolation that comes from afar? Upon whom will you⁺ flee for help, and where will you⁺ leave your⁺ wealth? Nothing remains but to kneel down among the prisoners, and among the slain they will fall. In all this, His anger is not turned back and His hand is still stretched out. Judgment on Assyria Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger, and the staff that is in their hand is My rage. I will send him against a godless nation and I will order him against the people of My wrath, to plunder the plunder and to prey on the prey, and to set them for trampling like the clay of the streets. And he does not consider it so, and his heart does not reckon it so, for to destroy is in his heart, and to cut off nations—not a few. For he says: “Are not my princes all kings? Or is not Calno like Carchemish? Or is not Hamath like Arpad? Is not Samaria like Damascus? As my hand has reached to the kingdoms of the idols and their graven images above those of Jerusalem and Samaria— is it not that as I have done to Samaria and her idols, thus I will do to Jerusalem and her idols?’” And it will come to pass, when YHWH has cut off all his work against Mount Zion and against Jerusalem: “I will reckon with the fruit of the magnitude of the heart of the king of Assyria and with the splendor of the loftiness of his eyes. For he says, ‘By the power of my hand I have done this, and by my own wisdom, for I have understanding; and I have removed the boundaries of the peoples, and their treasuries I have plundered; and I have brought down like a mighty one those sitting! And my hand has found the riches of the peoples as a nest; and as a gathering of forsaken eggs I have gathered all the earth; and there has not been one flapping a wing or opening its mouth and chirping.’” Will the ax glorify itself over the one hewing with it? Or will the saw exalt itself over one waving it— waving it as a rod of the one raising it, lifting it up as a staff not of wood! Therefore the Lord YHWH of Hosts will send among his fat ones leanness, and in place of his glory He will kindle a burning like the burning of fire. And the Light of Israel will be for a fire, and his Holy One for a flame, and it will burn and devour his thorn and his brier in one day. And the glory of his forest and his orchard He will finish off from soul to flesh, and he will become like the melting away of one being sick. And the remnant of the trees of his forest will be so few that a child could count them! A Remnant will Return And it will come to be in that day that the remnant of Israel and the survivor of the house of Jacob, will not continue anymore to lean on the one striking it. And he will lean truly on YHWH, the Holy One of Israel. A remnant will return, a remnant of Jacob,10.21 Hebrew Shear-jashub; also in verse 22; see Isaiah 7:3. to the Mighty God. For though your people O Israel, should be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant will return of it. The destruction is decreed, overflowing with righteousness. 10.22 LXX Though the people of Israel be like the sand of the sea, only a remnant will be saved. Cited in Romans 9:27 For the full end is decreed, that the Lord YHWH of Hosts will make in the midst of all the land.10.23 LXX He will finish the work and cut it short in righteousness, because the Lord will make a short work in all the world. Cited in Romans 9:28 Therefore thus says the Lord YHWH of Hosts: “You should not fear, O My people, dwelling in Zion, the Assyrian! With a rod he will strike you, and his staff he will lift up against you in the way of Egypt. For in just a very little while, My rage will come to an end, and My anger will be upon their destruction.” And YHWH of Hosts will stir up against him a whip, like the striking of Midian at the rock of Oreb; and as His rod was over the sea, so will He lift it up in the manner of Egypt. And in that day and it will come to pass that his burden will turned aside from your shoulder and his yoke from your neck and the yoke will be destroyed from the face of fatness,10.27 LXX broken from your shoulders he has come to Ayyah, he has passed over Migron; at Michmash he attends to his vessels. They have passed over at the ford; Geba was a lodging-place for them. Ramah has trembled, Gibeah of Saul has fled. Cry aloud with your voice, O daughter of Gallim! Pay attention, O Laish, O poor Anathoth! Madmenah has fled, those dwelling in Gebim have taken refuge. Yet today he will remain at Nob; he will wave his fist at the mountain of the daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem. Behold, the Lord YHWH of Hosts will lop off the bough with a crash; and those being high of stature will be cut down, and the high ones will be brought low. And He will cut down the thickets of the forest with iron, and Lebanon will fall before the Mighty One. The Root of Jesse A branch there will come forth from the stump of Jesse, and a fresh shoot from his roots will bear fruit. And will rest upon Him the Spirit of YHWH, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and fear of YHWH. And His delight is in the fear of YHWH, and by the sight of His eyes He will not judge, and not by the hearing of his ears He will decide. And He will judge the lowly with righteousness, and He will decide with straightness for the poor of the earth; and He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked. And righteousness will be the girdle of His waist, and faithfulness the girdle of His loins. And the wolf will dwell with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together,11.6 Hebrew; LXX the young calf and bull and lion will feed together and a little child will lead them. And the cow and the bear will graze; their young will lie down together, and the lion like the ox will eat straw. And the suckling will play over the hole of a cobra, and over the den of a viper the one being weaned will stretch out his hand. They will not harm and they will not destroy in all the mountain of My holiness; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of YHWH, as the waters are covering the sea. And in that day it will come to pass that the root of Jesse, which is standing, will be as a banner for the peoples; The nations will seek Him out, and His resting place will be in glory. 11.10 LXX On that day the Root of Jesse will appear, One who will arise to rule over the Gentiles; in Him the Gentiles will put their hope; cited in Romans 15:12. And it will come to pass in that day that the Lord will add a second time with His hand to recover the remnant of His people who will remain from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush,11.11 That is, the upper Nile region and from Elam, and from Shinar,11.11 That is, Babylonia and from Hamath, and from the islands11.11 Or coastlands of the sea. And He will lift up a banner for the nations, and He will gather the banished ones of Israel, and the dispersed ones of Judah He will gather together from the four wings of the earth. And the jealousy of Ephraim11.13 That is, the northern kingdom of Israel will be turned aside, and the adversaries11.13 Or hostility of Judah will be cut off. Ephraim will not envy Judah and Judah will not harass Ephraim. And they will fly down on the shoulder of the Philistines westward; together they will plunder the sons of the east. Upon Edom and Moab they will send forth their hands, and the sons of Ammon will be their subjects. And YHWH will devote to destruction11.15 Or will completely dry up the tongue11.15 Or the gulf of the Sea of Egypt, and He will wave His hand over the River11.15 That is, the Euphrates with the might of His wind, and will strike it into seven streams, for one to tread in sandals. And there will be a highway for the remnant of His people who remain from Assyria, as it was for Israel in the day of his coming up from the land of Egypt. Joyful Thanksgiving And you will say in that day, “I will praise You, O YHWH! Though You were angry with me, Your nose has turned away, and You have comforted me. Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid, for my strength and song is YAH—YHWH, and He has become for me salvation.” And you⁺ will draw water with joy from the springs of salvation. And you⁺ will say in that day: “Give praise to YHWH; call on His name! Declare among the peoples His deeds; cause it to be remembered that His Name is exalted. Sing to YHWH, for He has done magnificent things; let this be known in all the earth. Cry out and ring out, O dweller of Zion, for great among you is the Holy One of Israel.” The Burden against Babylon The burden of Babylon that Isaiah son of Amoz has seen. Upon the bare mountain lift up a banner! Raise high your voice to them. Wave a hand, that they may enter the gates of the nobles. I have commanded My holy ones; also, I have called My mighty ones for My nose— those jubilant ones of My pride. The voice of a crowd on the mountains, like that of many people— the voice of a roar of the kingdoms of nations gathered together! YHWH of Hosts is mustering a host for battle! They are coming from a land far off, from the end of the heavens— YHWH and the instruments of His indignation— to destroy all the land. Wail, for the day of YHWH is near; it will come as destruction from Shaddai.13.6 Shaddai means the Almighty At this all hands will go limp, and every heart of man will melt; and they will be afraid; pains and pangs will seize them; like a woman in labor they will writhe. Each man to his neighbor will look with astonishment, with faces aflame—their faces. Behold, the day of YHWH is coming, cruel with wrath and heat of anger, to set the land unto desolation, and He will destroy its sinful ones from it. For the stars of the heavens and their constellations their light will not shine forth; the sun will be darkened in its going forth, and the moon will not cause to shine its light. And I will visit punishment upon the world for evil, and upon the wicked for their iniquity, and I will make cease the arrogance of the proud ones, and the haughtiness of the ruthless ones I will lay low. I will make man scarcer than pure gold, and mankind than the gold of Ophir. Upon thus I will make the heavens tremble and the earth will be shaken from her place, by the fury of YHWH of Hosts, and in the day of the heat of his nose. And it has been like the gazelle driven away, or like a sheep without one gathering it, each man to his people will turn, and each man to his land will flee. Everyone who is found will be pierced, and everyone who is captured will fall by the sword; and their children will be dashed to pieces before their eyes; their houses will be plundered and their wives will be ravished. Behold, I am stirring up against them the Medes, who regard have no for silver, and gold—they do not delight in it. And the bows will dash to pieces the young men, and on the fruit of the womb they will have no mercy— on sons their eye has no pity. Babylon, the glory of kingdoms and the beauty of the pride of the Chaldeans, will be like the overthrowing by God of Sodom and Gomorrah. She wil not be dwelt in to eternity, she wil not be dwelt in for generation and generation, and no Arab or shepherds will pitch a tent; there they will not make flocks rest there. And desert creatures will stretch out there, and their houses will be full of howling creatures, and daughters of the ostrich will dwell there, and wild goats will skip about there, 13.21 Or daughters of the owl and hyenas will howl in its towers, and jackals13.22 Or serpents or dragons in its palaces of delight. And her time is coming near, and her days will not be drawn out. Restoration for Israel For YHWH will have compassion on Jacob, and again He will choose Israel, and He will settle them in their own land, and the sojourner will join them with them, and attach themselves to the house of Jacob. And the peoples will take them and bring them to their place, and the house of Israel will possess them in the land of YHWH as menservants and as maidservants, and they will become captives to their captors, and they will rule over their oppressors. The Fall of the King of Babylon And it will come to pass in the day of YHWH giving rest to you from your pain and from your trouble and the hard servitude that has been served upon you, that you will take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and you will say: “How the oppressor has ceased! The boisterous rage14.4 DSS, LXX, and Syriac; MT The golden city has ceased! YHWH has broken the staff of the wicked, the scepter of the rulers— the one striking the peoples in wrath, a striking with no turning aside, one ruling the nations in anger, pursuing without restraint. All the earth is at rest and quiet; they burst forth with singing, even the cypress trees14.8 Or pines or junipers or firs rejoice over you, the cedars of Lebanon: “Since you have been laid low, the cutter has not come up against us.” Sheol from beneath stirs itself for you, to meet you at your coming; it rouses for you the Rephaim, all the chief ones of the earth; it raises up from their thrones all the kings of the nations. All of them will answer and will say to you, “Even you have become weak like us, have you become like us.” Your pride has been brought down to Sheol, the sound of your harps; under you is spread out the maggot, and your covering is the worm. How you have fallen from the heavens, O shining one,14.12 Or morning star or day star or Lucifer son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the ground, O weakener of nations! For you have said in your heart, “I will ascend to the heavens; above the stars of God I will raise my throne. And I will sit on the mountain of assembly, in the far reaches of the north.14.13 Or in the remote parts of Zaphon or on the heights of Zaphon I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like to the Most High.” Yet you will be brought down to Sheol, to the sides of the Pit. Those who see you will gaze at you, they will ponder at you: “Is this the man who made tremble the earth, the one shaking kingdoms, setting the world as a wilderness; its cities he has broken down; his captives he has not released to their house?” All the kings of the nations, all of them, lie down in glory, each man in his own house;14.18 Or in his own tomb and you are cast out from your grave like a detested branch, the garment of those who are slain, pierced by the sword, going down to the stones of the pit, like a corpse trampled. You will not be joined with them in the grave, because your land you have destroyed, your people you have killed— the seed of evildoers let not be mentioned forever! Prepare slaughter for his sons, for the iniquity of their fathers— lest they rise up and possess the land and fill the face of the world with cities! “And I will rise up against them,” a declaration of YHWH of Hosts, “And I will cut off from Babylon the name, and remnant, and offspring, and posterity,” a declaration of YHWH. “Into a possession into a possession for the owl, and ponds of waters, and I will sweep it with the broom of destruction,” a declaration of YHWH of Hosts. God’s Purpose against Assyria YHWH of Hosts has sworn, saying, “Surely as I have purposed, so it will be, and as I have counseled, so it will stand: To break Assyria in My land, and on My mountains I will trample him! And his yoke will be turned aside from them and his burden will be turned aside from their shoulders.” This is the counsel that is counseled for all the earth, and this is the hand that is stretched out over all the nations. For YHWH of Hosts has counseled, and who can break it? And His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back? Philistia Will Be Destroyed In the year of the death of King Ahaz came this burden: Not do rejoice, Philistia, all of you, that the rod that struck you is broken— for from the root of the snake will come forth a viper, and its fruit is a flying fiery serpent! And the firstborn of the poor will find pasture, and the needy will stretch out in safety; and I will kill your root with famine and it will slay your remnant. Wail, O gate! Cry out, O city! Melt away, Philistia, all of you— for smoke will come from the north, and none is alone in its ranks. And what will he answer to the messengers of the nation? That YHWH has founded Zion, and in it the poor of His people will take refuge. The Burden against Moab (Jeremiah 48:1–47) The burden of Moab: Because in a night Ar of Moab is laid waste, it has been cut off! Because in a night Kir of Moab is laid waste, it has been cut off! He has gone up to Bajith and to Dibon, to the high places to weep. Over Nebo and over Medeba Moab is wailing. On all its heads is baldness, and every beard is cut off. In its streets they have girded on sackcloth; on its rooftops and in the square, everyone wails, going down with weeping. And Heshbon and Elealeh cry out; as far as Jahaz their voice is heard. Upon thus the armed ones of Moab cry out; his soul trembles within him. My heart cries out for Moab, for her fugitives are as far as Zoar, to Eglath-Shelishiyyah;15.5 Or Zoar, the heifer three years of age for the Ascent of Luhith—with weeping he goes up on it; for on the road of Horonaim they raise up a cry from destruction. For the waters of Nimrim have become desolations, for the grass has withered away; the vegetation is finished— nothing green is there. Upon thus, the abundance he made and their store, they carry them over the Brook of the Willows.15.7 Or Poplars For the outcry has gone all around the borders of Moab; as far as Eglaim is her howling, and her howling is in Beer-elim. For the waters of Dimon15.9 MT, twice in this verse; DSS and Vulgate Dibon; Dimon, a wordplay on Dibon (see verse 2), sounds like the Hebrew for blood. have been full of blood, for I will put upon Dimon added things: A lion for the survivor of Moab, and for the remnant of the land. Moab’s Destruction (Zephaniah 2:8–11) Send the lamb to the ruler of the land, from Sela in the wilderness, to the mountain of the daughter of Zion. And it will come to pass that, like a fluttering bird or a nestling cast out, so shall be the daughters of Moab at the fords of the Arnon. “Bring in counsel; make judgment; set like the night your shadow in the middle of noontime. Hide those driven away, do not uncover the one fleeing. Let sojourn among you the outcasts of Moab; be a shelter for them from the face of the destroyer.” For the extortioner comes to an end and destruction ceases; the tramplers of the land are finished off. And in loving devotion16.5 Forms of the Hebrew chesed are translated here and in most cases throughout the Scriptures as loving devotion; the range of meaning includes love, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, and mercy, as well as loyalty to a covenant. a throne will be established, and one will sit on it in faithfulness in the tent of David— one judging and seeking justice, and hastening righteousness. We have heard of the pride of Moab— exceeding pride— of his arrogance and his pride and his wrath; not so are his lies. Therefore Moab will wail; let everyone wail for Moab; for the raisin-cakes of Kir-Hareseth you⁺ will mourn, utterly stricken. For the fields of Heshbon languish, and the vine of Sibmah. The lords of the nations have struck down its choicest vines, which had reached as far as Jazer, and wandered to the desert— her branches stretched out and passed over the sea. 16.8 Or and went as far as the sea; that is, probably the Dead Sea Upon thus I weep with the weeping of Jazer, for the vine of Sibmah, I will drench you with my tears, O Heshbon and Elealeh. For over your summer fruit— over your summer fruit the shouting have fallen silent. And gladness and rejoicing are gathered up from the field of planting, and in the vineyards there is no singing, and no shouting, and the wine in the presses, the treader does not tread; their shouting I have made cease. Upon thus my bowels do moan for Moab like a harp, and my inmost being for Kir-heres.16.11 Kir-heres is a variant of Kir-hareseth; see verse 7. And it will come to pass, when it is seen that Moab has become weary on the high place, that he will come to his sanctuary to pray; he will not prevail. This is the word that YHWH has spoken to Moab from that time; and YHWH has spoken, saying, “In three years, according to the years of a hireling, then the glory of Moab will be turned to dishonor, with all the great multitude; and the remnant is little—small, not mighty.” The Burden against Damascus (Jeremiah 49:23–27) The burden of Damascus: “Behold, Damascus is being turned aside as a city, and it has become a heap of ruins. The cities of Aroer are forsaken; they will be for flocks to lie down, and no one will frighten them. The fortress will cease from Ephraim,17.3 Or The fortified city will disappear from Ephraim, that is, from the northern kingdom of Israel and the kingdom from Damascus; and the remnant of Aram will become like the glory of the sons of Israel,” a declaration of YHWH of hosts. “And it will come to pass in that day, that the glory of Jacob will hang low, and the fatness of his flesh will become lean; and it will be as the gathering of the harvester of the standing grain, when his arm harvests the ears; and it will be as the gathering of the ears in the Valley of Rephaim; and there will be left over in it gleanings, like the shaking of an olive tree, two or three berries at the top of the bough, four or five bearing fruit in its branches.” A declaration of YHWH God of Israel. In that day man will gaze upon his Maker, and his eyes will look unto the Holy One of Israel. And he will not look to the altars, the work of his hands, and that which his fingers have made he will not see— the Asherahs and incense altars. In that day the cities of his strength will be like the abandoned forest and summit that they abandoned before the faces of the sons of Israel; and it will be a desolation. For you have forgotten the God of your salvation, and the Rock of your refuge you have not remembered. Upon thus you may plant plants of pleasantness, and you may sow vines of a stranger, on the day you plant you make it grow, and in the morning of your sowing, you make it sprout; the harvest will flee on the day of the coming of sickness and pain that cannot be cured. Woe to the multitude of many peoples— like the roaring of seas they roar! And the rumble of nations— like the rumbling of mighty waters they are crashing! The peoples—like the rumbling of many waters they are crashing, and He will rebuke them, and they will flee far away, and they will be chased like chaff on the mountains before the face of the wind, and like a wheel of dust before the face of the whirlwind. And at the time of evening, behold the terror; before the morning he is no more! This is the portion of those plundering us and the lot of those preying on us. A Message to Cush Woe to the land of whirring wings,18.1 Or of many locusts which is beyond the rivers of Cush,18.1 That is, the upper Nile region that is sending envoys by sea, and in vessels of papyrus over the face of the waters! Go, swift messengers, to a nation tall and smooth, to a people feared from that and onward, a nation of strength and trampling, whose land the rivers divide. All you dwellers of the world and dwellers of the earth— at the lifting of a banner in the mountains, you⁺ will see it, and at the blowing of a shofar, you⁺ will hear it. For thus has said YHWH to me: “I will take My rest, and I will look on from My settled place, shimmering like heat upon the light, like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.” For before the face of the harvest of the bud at the filling and the blossom is a ripening grape, then He will cut off the tendrils with pruning hooks, and the branches He will turn aside and strike off. They will be left behind together for the birds of prey of the mountains and for the beasts of the earth; and the bird of prey will feed in summer on them, and all the beasts of the earth will feed in winter on them. At that time a gift will be brought to YHWH of Hosts from a people tall and smooth, and from a people feared from afar, a nation of strength and treading down, for whom its land the rivers divides; to the place of the name of YHWH of Hosts, to Mount Zion. The Burden against Egypt The burden of Egypt: Behold, YHWH is riding on a swift cloud, and He is coming into Egypt; and the idols of Egypt will quiver before His face, and the heart of Egypt will melt within them. “And I will set Egyptian against Egyptian, and a man will be fighting against his brother, and a man against his neighbor— city against city, kingdom against kingdom. And the spirit of Egypt will be emptied out from among them, and I will swallow up its counsel; and they will resort to the idols, and to the charmers, and to the mediums, and to the spiritists. And I will shut up Egypt in the hand of harsh masters, and a fierce king will rule over them,” a declaration of the Lord YHWH of hosts. And the waters of the Sea will dry up, and the River will become parched and dried up; and the rivers will trickle and will become foul, and the brooks of Egypt dried out; the reeds and rushes will wither, the rushes by the River, upon the mouth of the River, and every sown field of the River will wither; it will be driven away and be no more. And the fishermen will mourn, and all those casting a hook into the River will lament, and those spreading nets upon the face of the waters, they will languish. And those working fine flax will be put to shame, and those weaving white cloth, and her weavers19.10 Or her foundations have been crushed, and all the hired workers are stagnant of soul. Indeed the princes of Zoan are fools, the counsel of the wise counselors of Pharaoh has become dull. How can you⁺ say to Pharaoh, “A son of wise men, I am a son of kings from times before? Where then are your wise ones? And let them declare it to you now and make known what YHWH of Hosts has counseled for Egypt! The princes of Zoan have become fools, the princes of Memphis19.13 LXX; Hebrew Noph are deceived; they have led Egypt astray— the cornerstone of her tribes. YHWH has mixed into her midst a spirit of distortions, and Egypt they have led astray in all her work, like the staggering of a drunkard in his vomit. And there will not be work for Egypt that one could do— head or tail, palm branch or reed, A Blessing upon the Earth In that day Egypt will become like women, and it will tremble and feel dread from the face of the waving of the hand of YHWH of Hosts, which He is waving over it. And the land of Judah will be to Egypt as a terror; everyone who makes mention of it will tremble in himself from the face of the counsel of YHWH of Hosts, which He is counseling against Egypt. In that day there will be five cities in the land of Egypt speaking the language of Canaan and swearing oaths by YHWH of Hosts. “City of the Sun”19.18 Some MT manuscripts, DSS, and Vulgate; most MT manuscripts City of Destruction it will be said of one. In that day there will be an altar to YHWH in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to YHWH at its border. And it will be as a sign and as a witness to YHWH of hosts in the land of Egypt; for they will cry to YHWH from the face of the oppressors, and He will send to them one saving and defending, and He will deliver them. And YHWH will make Himself known to Egypt, and Egypt will acknowledge YHWH on that day, and they will prepare sacrifice and offering, and they will vow a vow to YHWH and fulfill it. And YHWH will strike Egypt, striking and healing; and they will turn back to YHWH, and He will be entreated by them, and He will heal them. That in the day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and Assyria will come into Egypt, and Egypt into Assyria, and Egypt with Assyria will serve Him. In that day Israel will be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth, when YHWH of Hosts will bless him, saying, “Blessed be My people Egypt, and the work of My hands Assyria, and My inheritance Israel.” A Sign against Egypt and Cush In the year of the coming of Tartan to Ashdod, when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him, then he fought against Ashdod and captured it. At the time that YHWH spoke by the hand of Isaiah son of Amoz, saying, “Go and remove the sackcloth from your body, and draw off your sandals from your feet.” And he did so, walking naked and barefoot. And YHWH said, “As My servant Isaiah has walked naked and barefoot three years as a sign and a wonder against Egypt and against Cush,20.3 That is, the upper Nile region; similarly in verses 4 and 5 so the king of Assyria will lead away the captive of Egypt and the exile of Cush—young and old—naked and barefoot, and their buttocks uncovered, the nakedness of Egypt. And they will be dismayed and ashamed of Cush as their hope and Egypt as their glory. And the one dwelling on this seacoast will say in that day, ‘Behold, this was our hope, where we would flee there for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria. How then can we escape?’” Babylon Is Fallen (Revelation 18:1–8) The burden of the wilderness the Sea: Like whirlwinds in the Negev passing through, it comes from the wilderness, from a fearsome land. A harsh vision is declared to me: “The treacherous one deals treacherously, and the destroyer destroys. Go up, O Elam! Besiege, O Media! All her sighing I have made cease.” Upon thus my loins are filled with pain; pangs have taken hold of me like the pangs of one giving birth. I am writhing from hearing; I am disturbed from seeing. My heart staggers, a shuddering terrifies me; the twilight of my desire has been set for me into fear, to arrange the table and lay out the spread, to eat, to drink. Rise up, O princes, and anoint the shield! For thus the Lord has said to me: “Go, station the one keeping watch and let him declare what he sees. And he sees a chariot with a pair of horses, the rider of a donkey, and the rider of a camel, and he will be attentive, with great attention.” And the lookout called out:21.8 DSS and Syriac; MT And he called out, “A lion “Upon the watchtower, my Lord, I stand continually by day, and at my post I take my stand every night. And behold this, the chariot of a man is coming, with a pair of horses.” And he answered and said, “Fallen, Babylon has fallen! And all the images of her gods He has broken to the ground!” 21.9 See Revelation 14:8 and Revelation 18:2. O my threshing, and the son of my threshing floor, that which I have heard from YHWH of Hosts, the God of Israel, I have declared to you⁺! The Burden against Edom (Isaiah 34:5–17) The burden of Dumah:21.11 Dumah is a wordplay on Edom, meaning silence. To me one is calling from Seir:21.11 Seir is another name for Edom. “Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?” The watchman said, “The morning comes, and also the night. If you⁺ would inquire, then inquire; return, come.” The Burden against Arabia The burden upon Arabia: In the thicket you⁺ lodge in Arabia, O caravans of Dedanites, to meet the thirsty one. Bring water, O dwellers of the land of Tema, with his bread meet the one fleeing. For they do flee from the face of swords, from the sword drawn, and from the bow bent, and from the weight of war. For thus says the Lord to me: “Within a year, according to the years of a hireling, then will end all the glory of Kedar. And the remnant of the number of archers, the mighty ones of the sons of Kedar, will be few.” For YHWH, the God of Israel, has spoken. The Valley of Vision The burden of the Valley of Vision: What with you then, that you have gone up, all of you, to the rooftops, full of noise O city murmuring, O jubilant town? Your slain are not those slain by the sword, and they were not killed in battle. All your rulers have fled together, without a bow they are bound; all those being found in you are bound together; they have fled far away. Upon thus I said, “Look away from me, let me be bitter; do not hurry in my weeping to comfort me over the destruction of the daughter of my people!” For it is a day of tumult and trampling and confusion unto the Lord YHWH of Hosts in the Valley of Vision, digging down a wall and crying to the mountain. And Elam bore the quiver with chariots of man and horsemen, and Kir uncovered the shield. And it will come to pass that the choicest of your valleys will be full of chariots, and the horsemen are set diligently at the gate. And He uncovered the screen of Judah. And You looked on that day to the weapons of the House of the Forest. And the breaches of the city of David you⁺ saw, that they were many. And you⁺ gathered together the waters of the lower pool. And the houses of Jerusalem you⁺ numbered, and you⁺ broke down the houses to fortify the wall. And you⁺ made a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the old pool, and you⁺ did not look to the one who made it, and Him who fashioned it long ago you⁺ did not see. And the Lord YHWH of Hosts called on that day for weeping, and for wailing, and for baldness, and for girding with sackcloth. And behold, joy and gladness, slaying of oxen and slaughtering of sheep, the eating of flesh and drinking of wine: “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!” 22.13 Cited in 1 Corinthians 15:32 And it was revealed in my ears by YHWH of Hosts: “This iniquity will not be atoned for from you⁺ even until you⁺ die,” says the Lord YHWH of Hosts. A Message for Shebna Thus says the Lord YHWH of Hosts: “Go, come to this steward, to Shebna who is over the house: What is unto you here, and who is unto you here, that have hewn out for yourself here a tomb, hewing out his tomb on high, carving a resting place in the rock for himself? Behold, YHWH is going to hurl you with a great hurling, and will grasp hold of you with a firm grasp, O strong one; He will wind you round and round, tossing you like a ball into a land broad of sides; you will die there, and there the chariots of your glory will be the shame of the house of your master! And I will thrust you from your station, and one will throw you down from your position. And it will be on that day, I will call My servant Eliakim son of Hilkiah, and I will clothe him with your tunic and strengthen him with your sash, and I will give your rule into his hand; and He will be as a father to those dwelling in Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. And I will place the key of the house of David upon his shoulder. And he will open, and no one is shutting; and he will shut, and no one is opening. 22.22 See Revelation 3:7. And I will fasten him like a peg in a place that is firm, and he will become as a throne of glory to the house of his father. And they will hang on him all the glory of the house of his father—the offspring and the posterity, and all the vessels of small size, from all the cups, and unto all the vessels of jars. In that day, a declaration of YHWH of Hosts, the peg that is fastened will give way, into a firm place, it will be sheared off, and fall, and the burden that was on it will be cut off,” for YHWH has spoken. The Burden against Tyre (Ezekiel 26:1–21) The Burden of Tyre: Wail, O ships of Tarshish,23.1 Or Wail, O fleet of trading ships; also in verse 14 for it is laid waste— without house, without harbor! From the land of Kittim23.1 That is, Cyprus; also in verse 12 it has been revealed to them. Be still, O dwellers of the coastland, merchants of Sidon, whose traders have crossed the sea.23.2 DSS and LXX; MT whom those passing over the sea have filled And on great waters is the seed of Sihor; the harvest of the River is her revenue, and she is a marketplace of nations. Be ashamed, O Sidon, for the sea has spoken, the strength of the sea, saying: “I have not been pained and I have not brought forth children, and I have not nourished young men or brought up young women.” When the report comes to Egypt they will writhe in agony at the report of Tyre. Pass over to Tarshish; Wail, O dwellers of the coastland. Is this your⁺ jubilant one, whose origin is from days of old? Her own feet carried her to settle far away. Who has taken counsel this against Tyre, the crowning one, whose merchants are princes; her traders are the honorable ones of the earth? Yhwh of hosts has purposed it— to dishonor the pride of all glory, to shame all the honorable ones of the earth. Cultivate23.10 DSS and some LXX manuscripts; MT Overflow or Pass over your land like the Nile, O daughter of Tarshish; there is no girdle anymore. He has stretched out His hand over the sea, He has shaken the kingdoms. Yhwh has commanded against Canaan to destroy her strongholds. And He said, “You will not add again to exult, O oppressed virgin daughter of Sidon. To Kittim arise, pass over— even there is no rest unto you.” Behold the land of the Chaldeans23.13 That is, the Babylonians— this people was not. Assyria has founded it for the desert creatures; they set up its towers, they raised up its palaces— He has appointed her to ruin. Wail, O ships of Tarshish, for your⁺ refuge has been destroyed! And it will come to pass in that day, that Tyre will be forgotten seventy years—as the days of one king. At the end of seventy years, it will come to pass to Tyre as the song of the harlot: “Take a harp, go about the city, O forgotten harlot; make sweet melody, sing many a song, so that you may be remembered.” And it will come to pass at the end of seventy years, that YHWH will visit Tyre, and she will return to her hire and commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the world on the face of the earth. And her gain and her pay will be set apart for YHWH; it will not be stored up and not laid up, for unto those sitting before YHWH will be her gain, to eat to satisfaction, and for a surpassing covering. God’s Judgment on the Earth Behold, YHWH is emptying the earth, and is making it waste; and He has twisted its surface and has scattered its dwellers. And it will be—as with the people so with the priest, as with the servant so with his master, as with the maidservant so with her mistress, as with the buyer so with the seller, as with the lender so with the borrower, as with the creditor so with the lender of it. The earth will be utterly emptied and utterly plundered, for YHWH has spoken this word. The earth has mourned and has faded away; the world has languished and has faded away; the haughty have languished people of the earth. And the earth is defiled under its dwellers, because they have transgressed the laws— they have passed ovr the decree, they have broken the everlasting covenant. Upon thus a curse has consumed the earth, and those who dwell upon it are found guilty; thus those dwelling in the earth have been burned, and few men have been left. The new wine has failed, the vine has languished; all the joyful of heart have groaned. The joy of the tambourines has ceased; the noise of the jubilant ones has ended; the joy of the harp has ceased. They will not drink wine with a song; strong drink is bitter to those drinking it. The city of confusion has been broken down; every house is closed up from entering. A cry over the wine is in the streets; all joy is darkened; the rejoicing of the land has been removed. In the city a desolation has been left, and the gate is broken into a ruin. For thus it shall be within the land in the midst of the nations, like the shaking of an olive tree, like the gleaning of grapes when the vintage is done. They will lift up their voice; they will sing of the majesty of YHWH—they have cried aloud from the sea.24.14 Or from the west Upon thus, glorify YHWH in the dawning light, the name of YHWH God of Israel in the islands24.15 Or coastlands of the sea. From the ends of the earth we have heard songs: “Glory to the Righteous One.” And I said, “Leanness is unto me! Leanness is unto me! Woe to me!” Treacherous dealers have dealt treacherously, and with treachery treacherous dealers have dealt treacherously. Terror and pit and snare are upon you, O dweller of the earth. And it will come to pass that he who flees from the sound of terror will fall into the pit, and he who comes up from the midst of the pit will be caught in the snare. For the windows on high have been opened, and the foundations of the earth are shaken. The earth has been utterly broken apart; the earth has been utterly split open; the earth has been shaken violently. The earth like a drunkard will stagger greatly, and it will totter like a hut; and transgression will be heavy upon it, and it will fall and never again rise. And it will come to pass in that day, that YHWH will lay a charge upon the host of the high place in the high place and upon the kings of the earth on the earth. And they will be gathered together— a gathering of bound ones in the pit, and they will be shut up in the prison, and after a multitude of days they will be punished. The moon and will be confounded and the sun will be ashamed, for YHWH of hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and before His elders is glory. Praise to the Victorious God (Jeremiah 51:15–19) O YHWH, You are my God! I will exalt You. I will praise Your name, for You have done a wonderful thing, counsel of old, in steadfast faithfulness. For You have made the city a heap, the fortified city a ruin, a fortress of strangers from a city— forever it will never be rebuilt! Upon thus a strong people will honor You; a city of ruthless nations will fear you. For You have been a stronghold for the poor, a stronghold for the needy one in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat— for the breath of the ruthless ones is like a storm against a wall, like heat in a dry land, the roar of strangers You humble— the heat in the shadow of a cloud, the song of the ruthless ones will be brought low. And YHWH of Hosts will make on this on the mountain for all the peoples a feast of fat things, a feast of aged wines— fat things full of marrow, aged wines well-refined. And He will swallow up on this mountain the face of the wrapping covering over all the peoples, and the veil woven over all the nations. He will swallow up death forever, and the Lord YHWH will wipe away the tear from all faces,25.8 Or He will swallow up death in victory; cited in 1 Corinthians 15:54 and He will turn away the scorn of His people from all the earth. For YHWH has spoken. 25.8 Cited in Revelation 7:17 and Revelation 21:4 And one will say on that day, “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for Him and He has saved us. This is YHWH; we have waited for Him— let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation!” For the hand of YHWH will rest on this mountain, and Moab will be trampled down under Him as is trampled down straw in the waters of dung. And He will spread out His hands within it, as the swimmer spreads out to swim, and He will bring low its pride with25.11 Or despite the skill of his hands. And the fortress of the high place of your walls He will bend down— He will bring it low, touching it down to the ground, into dust! A Song of Salvation In that day, will be sung this song in the land of Judah: We have a strong city; He sets salvation for walls and a rampart. Open the gates, that a righteous nation may enter in— one keeping faith. You will keep the one steadfast of mind in perfect peace, because he trusts in You. Trust in YHWH even to forever, for in YAH—YHWH—is a Rock of Ages. For He has brought down those dwelling in a high place; the city up high He brings low— He brings it down to the ground, He makes it touch even to the dust. The foot will trample it— the feet of the poor, the steps of the lowly. The path of a righteous one is uprightness; You make level a straight track for the righteous one. Indeed, in the path of Your judgments, O YHWH, we wait for You; for Your name and for the remembrance of You is the desire of the soul. With my soul I have desired You in the night; yes, with my spirit within me I seek You early; for when Your judgments are on the earth, those dwelling in the world will learn righteousness. Let the wicked be favored— he will not learn righteousness; in the land of uprightness he acts unjustly, and he cannot see the majesty of YHWH. O YHWH, Your hand is lifted high; they do not see it. Let them see the zeal for the people and be ashamed; yes, the fire of Your enemies will devour them. O YHWH, You will establish peace for us, even for all our works You have done for us. O YHWH our God, lords besides You have ruled over us; only by You we make mention of Your name. Those being dead will not live; the Rephaim will not rise; therefore you have attended to and destroyed them, and You have made to perish all memory of them. You have added to the nation, O YHWH; You have added to the nation, You are glorified; You have expanded all the borders of the land. O YHWH, in the distress they visited You; they poured out a whispering with Your discipline upon them. Like a pregnant woman drawing near to giving birth writhes and cries out in pain, so have we been before Your face, O YHWH. We were pregnant; we writhed; we gave birth as if to the wind; we have not accomplished salvation on earth, and those dwelling in the world have not fallen. Your dead will live—my corpse they rise! Awake and sing out, O dwellers of the dust! For a dew of light is your dew, and the earth, she will cast out the Rephaim. Go, my people, come into your chambers, and shut your doors behind you; hide yourself a little while, until His anger has passed by. For behold, YHWH is coming forth from His place to punish the iniquity of those dwelling in the earth! And the earth will uncover her bloodshed and she will not cover anymore over her slain. Yahweh’s Vineyard (John 15:1–8) In that day YHWH will visit with His sword, severe and great and mighty, upon Leviathan the fleeing serpent,27.1 Hebrew nachash; translated in most cases as snake; twice in this verse and upon Leviathan the coiling serpent, and He will kill the dragon that is in the sea. In that day: Sing of her—a vineyard of delight! I, YHWH, am watching over her; every moment I water her, lest one should visit upon her; night and day I watch over her. Anger is not in Me. Who would set against Me a thorn—a thornbush? In the battle I will march against her, I will burn her alltogether. Or if he should take hold of My strength, he will make peace with Me— peace he will make with Me.” Those coming in of Jacob he causes to take root. Israel will blossom and bud, and they will fill the face of the world with fruit. Has He has struck him as the striking of one striking him? As if according to the slaughter of his slain was he slayed? In driving her off,27.8 Or By warfare in sending her out, You have contended with her; He removed it by His harsh wind, as on the day of the east wind. Therefore by this the iniquity of Jacob will be wiped away, and this is all the fruit, to take away his sin: In His setting all the stones of the altar, as stones of chalk crushed to pieces; they will not rise— the Asherah poles and incense altars. 27.9 LXX Therefore the guilt of Jacob will be taken away, and this is his blessing when I take away his sin; cited in Romans 11:27 For the fortified city is alone, a habitation deserted and forsaken like the wilderness; there the calf will graze, and there he will lie down and consume her branches. With the withering of her boughs, they are broken off; the women come make fires with it, for it is not for a people of understanding. Thus He who made them will not have compassion on them, and He who formed them will not show them favor. And it will come to pass in that day, that YHWH will beat out the grain, from the stream of the River27.12 That is, the Euphrates to the Wadi of Egypt, and you⁺ will be gathered one by one, O sons of Israel. And it will come to pass in that day that a great shofar will be blown, and will come those lost in the land of Assyria, and those driven away in the land of Egypt, and they will worship YHWH on the holy mountain in Jerusalem. The Captivity of Ephraim Woe, to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim,28.1 That is, the northern kingdom of Israel; also in verse 3 and the withering flower, the beauty of his glory, which is at the head of the valley of fatness, those having been struck down by wine! Behold, a mighty and strong one is unto the Lord, like a storm of hail and a tempest of destruction, like a flood of mighty waters overflowing, He will bring it to the ground with the hand. With his feet, the pride of the crown of the drunkards of Ephraim will be trampled. The fading flower, the beauty of his glory that is on the head of the valley of fatness, will be like a ripe fig before summer, which the one seeing it sees, and with it still in his palm, he swallows it. In that day YHWH of Hosts will be a crown of glory and a diadem of beauty for the remnant of His people, and as a spirit of justice for the one sitting in judgment, and as strength for those turning back the battle at the gate. And also these through wine have erred, and with strong drink have wandered; priest and prophet have erred through strong drink and are swallowed up by the wine, they go astray through strong drink; they err in vision, they have stumbled in judgment. For all the tables are full of vomit and filth without a place to stand. To whom will He teach knowledge? And to whom will he explain the message? Those weaned from milk? Those removed from the breasts? For, “Order on order, order on order; line on line, line on line;28.10 Or Do this, do that, a rule for this, a rule for that; Hebrew sav lasav sav lasav kav lakav kav lakav (possibly meaningless sounds to demonstrate an inability to understand); also in verse 13 a little here, a little there.” For with mocking lips and a foreign tongue He will speak to this people, 28.11 Cited in 1 Corinthians 14:21 to whom He said: “This is the resting, may they give rest to the weary, and this is the refreshing,” they were not willing to listen. And the word of YHWH will become to them “Order on order, order on order; line on line, line on line; a little here, a little there,” that they might go and stumble backward, and be broken and ensnared and captured. A Cornerstone in Zion (1 Corinthians 3:10–15; Ephesians 2:19–22; 1 Peter 2:1–8) Therefore hear the word of YHWH, O men of scorning, rulers of this people who are in Jerusalem. For you⁺ have said, “We have cut a covenant with death, and with Sheol we have made an agreement. The overflowing scourge, when it passes over, it will not come to us, for we have made falsehood our refuge, and in deception28.15 Or false gods we have hidden ourselves.” Therefore thus says the Lord YHWH: “Behold, I lay for a foundation in Zion a stone, a stone tested, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation. One believing will not be in haste. 28.16 LXX will never be put to shame; cited in Romans 9:33, Romans 10:11, and 1 Peter 2:6 And I will make justice the measuring line, and righteousness the plumbline; and the hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters will overflow the hiding place. And your⁺ covenant with death will be dissolved, and your⁺ agreement with Sheol will not stand; the overwhelming scourge, when it passes over, then you⁺ will be trampled by it. As often as it passes over, it will take you⁺; for morning by morning it will pass over.” And by day and by night, then it will be only a terror to understand the report. For the bed is too short for stretching out, and the covering too narrow for wrapping oneself. For as at Mount Perazim, YHWH will rise up; as in the Valley of Gibeon, He will rouse Himself, to do His work—His strange work! And to perform His task—His unusual task! And now, do not mock, lest your⁺ bonds be made strong; for destruction is decreed—I have heard from the Lord YHWH of Hosts— upon the whole land. Listen and Hear Give ear and hear my voice; pay attention and hear my speech. Does the one plowing plow all the day to sow? He opens and harrows his ground. Does he not, when he has leveled its face, then scatter caraway and sow cummin and put in a row the wheat in the appointed place and the barley and the spelt at its border? And He instructs him in judgment, and His God teaches him. For caraway is not threshed with a sledge, and the wheel of a cart is not rolled over the cumin. But with the staff caraway is beaten out, and the cummin with the rod. Bread must be ground, but not forever does the one threshing thresh it; and he runs it over with the wheels of his cart, and his horses do not crush it. Also this has gone forth from YHWH of Hosts, wonderful in counsel, great in wisdom. Woe to David’s City (Luke 19:41–44) Woe to Ariel,29.1 Or Altar Hearth or Lion of God; probably a nickname for Jerusalem; twice in this verse, twice in verse 2, and once in verse 7 Ariel the city where David encamped! Add year to year; let the feasts come around. And I will constrain Ariel, and there will be mourning and lamentation; and to Me she will be as Ariel!29.2 Or like an altar hearth; see the footnote for verse 1. And I will encamp in a circle against you, and I will lay siege against you with a siege-work, and I will raise against you the fortifications. And you will be brought low, from the ground you will speak, and from the dust Your speech will be low, and Your voice will be from the ground like a spirit from the dust, and your speech will whisper. The multitude of your foes will be like fine dust, and the multitude of the ruthless ones like chaff passing away; and it will come to pass in an instant, suddenly, from YHWH of Hosts you will be visited with thunder and earthquake and a great voice, with storm and tempest and the flame of devouring fire. And it will come to pass like a dream and a vision of night, and the multitude of all the nations that go out against Ariel— even all those fighting against her and the siegeworks against her, and those pressing on her. And it will be as when the hungry one dreams and behold, he is eating, and he awakens, and his soul is empty; or as when the thirsty one dreams and behold, he is drinking, and he awakens, and behold, he is faint and his soul is still running about. So will be the multitude of the all nations coming out against Mount Zion. Pause and be astonished, blind yourselves and be blinded; be drunk, not from wine; stagger, not from strong drink! For YHWH has poured out on you⁺ a spirit of deep sleep, and He has closed your⁺ eyes, O prophets, and He has covered your⁺ heads, O seers. And the vision of all has become to you⁺ like the words of a book that is sealed, which they give to the one knowing a book, saying, “Read this now! “And he says, I am not able, for it is sealed.” And the book is given to one who does not know a book, saying, “Read this now! And he says, “I do not know a book.” And YHWH says, “Because that this people draws near with its mouth, and honors Me with its lips, and its heart has grown far away from Me, and their reverence toward Me is a commandment taught by men. 29.13 Hebrew; LXX They worship Me in vain; they teach as doctrine the precepts of men. Cited in Matthew 15:8–9 and Mark 7:6–7 Therefore behold, I am adding to do a marvellous work with this people, and by a wonder making wonders, so will perish, the wisdom of its wise, and the understanding of its discerning will be hidden. 29.14 Hebrew; LXX I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will hide the intelligence of the intelligent. Cited in 1 Corinthians 1:19 Wo to those going deep from YHWH to hide their counsel. And their works are in darkness, and they say, “Who sees us and who knows us?” You⁺ have turned things upside down! Shall the potter be considered like clay? Shall the thing made say of the one making it “He did not make me”? Or the thing formed say of the one forming it “He does not understand”? 29.16 Cited in Romans 9:20 Sanctification for the Godly Is it not yet very a little while that Lebanon will be turned into a fruitful field, and the fruitful field will be considered a forest? And in that day the deaf will hear the words of a book, and from the gloom and from the darkness, the eyes of the blind will see. And the lowly will add joy in YHWH, and the needy of mankind will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel. For the ruthless one will cease, and the mocking one will disappear, and all those watching for iniquity will be cut down— those making guilty a man by a word and laying a snare for the one arguing in the gate and stretching aside in confusion the just one. Therefore thus says YHWH, who redeemed Abraham, to the house of Jacob, “Now no more will Jacob be ashamed, and now no more will his face grow pale. For in his seeing his children, the work of My hands, in his midst, they will sanctify My name and they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and the God of Israel they will fear. And those having gone astray in spirit will know understanding, and those having grumbled, will learn instruction.” The Worthless Treaty with Egypt “Woe to the rebellious sons,” says YHWH, “Making counsels not from Me and weaving webs not of My Spirit, for the purpose of adding sin upon sin— those going down to Egypt (and they have not asked My mouth) to take refuge in the stronghold of Pharaoh and to take refuge in the shadow of Egypt! And the strength of Pharaoh will be unto you⁺ for shame, and the refuge in the shadow of Egypt for disgrace. For his princes are in Zoan, and his messengers have reached Hanes; they all come to shame over a people of no profit to them, not for help and not for gain, but for shame and even for scorn.” The burden of the beasts of the Negev: In a land of distress and anguish, from which came lioness and lion, the flying viper and serpent, they carry their riches on the shoulder of donkeys, and their treasures on the humps of camels, to a people of no profit to them, and to Egypt in emptiness and uselessness for helping; therefore I have called to her, Rahab-hem-shebeth.30.7 Rahab-hem-shebeth means Rahab who sits still Now go write it on a tablet before them and inscribe it on a scroll, that it may be for a day to come for a witness even to forever; for it is a rebellious people, sons of deceit, sons not willing to hear the instruction of YHWH, who say to the seers, “Do not see,” and to the prophets, “Do not prophesy to us the truth; speak to us smooth things; prophesy illusions. Turn aside from the way, bend away from the path, make cease before our faces the Holy One of Israel.” Therefore thus says the Holy One of Israel, “Because you⁺ reject this word, and you⁺ trust in oppression and corruption and lean on it, so will be to you⁺ this iniquity like a breach ready to fall, bulging in a high wall, whose breach suddenly comes in an instant. And He will break it like the breaking of the vessel of a potter shattered with no pity; and there will not be found among its fragments a shard to scrape fire from the hearth or to draw water from the cistern.” For thus says the Lord YHWH, the Holy One of Israel: “In returning and rest you⁺ will be saved; in quietness and in confidence will be your⁺ strength.” And you⁺ were not willing,” and you⁺ said, “No,” for we will flee on horses.” Therefore you⁺ will flee— “For we will ride on swift ones.” (upon thus, those pursuing you⁺ will be swift.) One thousand from the face of the threat of one, from the face of the threat of five you⁺ will flee, until only you⁺ are left behind like a pole on the top of the mountain and like a banner on the hill! God Will Be Gracious And YHWH waits to show you⁺ favor, and therefore He rises up to show you⁺ mercy. For YHWH is a God of justice; blessed are all those waiting for Him. Indeed, O people in Zion who dwell in Jerusalem, surely you will weep no more. Surely He will show you favor at the voice of your crying; at His hearing it, He will answer you. The Lord gives to you⁺ the bread of distress and the water of oppression, and your teachers will not be hidden in a corner anymore, and your eyes will be seeing your teachers. And Your ears will hear a word from behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it,” when you⁺ turn to the right or when you⁺ turn to the left. And you⁺ will defile the overlaid idols of your silver, and the plating of the molten images of your gold; you will throw them away like menstrual cloths—“Filth!” You will say to it. And He will give the rain for your seed with which you sow the ground, and the bread of the produce of the ground, and it will be fat and rich. In that day your cattle will feed in broad pastures, and the oxen and the donkeys working the ground will eat seasoned fodder that has been winnowed with the shovel and the pitchfork. And there will be on every high mountain and on every high hill, rivers and streams of waters in the day of great slaughter at the falling of the towers. And the light of the moon will be like the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be sevenfold—like the light of seven days—on the day that YHWH binds up the brokenness of His people and heals the wounds of His scourging. Behold, the name of YHWH is coming from afar! With His nose burning and denseness of smoke, His lips are full of indignation, and His tongue is like a devouring fire. And His breath is like an overflowing torrent; it reaches up to the neck, to sift the nations with the sieve of futility, and a bridle leading them astray is upon the jaws of the peoples. There will be for you⁺ a song, as in the night of a holy feast, and gladness of heart, as when one walks with a flute to go into the mountain of YHWH, to the Rock of Israel. And YHWH will make heard the splendor of His voice, and He will make seen the sweeping down of His arm, in the rage of His nose and a flame of devouring fire, with storm and tempest and stone of hail. For at the voice of YHWH Assyria will be shattered; with the rod He will strike. With every passing of the rod of punishment30.32 Some Hebrew manuscripts, Syriac; MT the rod of foundation; DSS the staff of appointment that YHWH brings down on him, then it will come to pass that with tambourines and with harps, as in battle of shaking He will fight against them. For Topheth was arranged long ago— even for the king it was prepared. He has made it deep and large, the pile of fire and much wood. The breath of YHWH like a torrent of brimstone will set fire to it! Woe to Those Who Rely on Egypt Woe to those going down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses and trust in chariots that are many, and in horsemen that they are very numerous, and they do not look to the Holy One of Israel, and YHWH they do not seek. He is also wise, and He brings disaster; and His words He does not turn aside, and He will rise up against a house of evildoers, and against the help of the workers of iniquity. For Egypt is man and not God, and their horses are flesh and not Spirit. And YHWH stretches out His hand, and the helper will stumble, and the one being helped will fall, and together all of them will perish. For thus has said YHWH to me: “As the lion roars or the young lion over his prey, when a multitude of shepherds is called against him— at their voice he is not afraid and at their clamor he is not alarmed— so YHWH of Hosts will come down to fight on Mount Zion, and on her hill. Like birds flying about, so YHWH of hosts will give cover over Jerusalem, covering and delivering it, passing over and preserving it.” Return to the one against whom you have deeply rebelled, O sons of Israel, for in that day, a man will reject the idols of his silver and the idols of his gold, which your⁺ own hands have made for you⁺ as sin. And Assyria Will fall by a sword not of man, and a sword not of man will devour him; and he will flee from the face of the sword, and his young men will be for forced labor. And his stronghold will pass away at the terror, and his princes will be frightened at the banner,” says YHWH, whose fire unto Him is in Zion, and a furnace unto Him is in Jerusalem. A Righteous King Behold, a king will reign in righteousness, and princes will rule in justice. And each man will be like a hiding place from the wind and a cover from the tempest, like streams of waters in a dry land, like the shade of a great rock in a weary land. And the eyes of those seeing will no longer be closed, and the ears of those hearing will listen; and the heart of those being hasty will understand to know, and the tongue of the stammerers will hurry to speak clearly. A foolish one will no longer be called noble, and a scoundrel will not be said to be honorable; for a foolish one speaks foolishness, and his heart makes trouble, to practice profanity and to speak error against YHWH, keeping empty the soul of the hungry, and the thirsty he deprives of drink. And the scoundrel—his vessels are evil— he counsels wicked plots to destroy the poor with deceptive words, even when the plea of the needy is just. And a noble counsels noble things, and he for noble things will stand. The Women of Jerusalem Rise up O women at ease, hear my voice; O secure daughters, give ear to my word. In days upon a year, you will tremble, O secure ones; for the vintage has ended; the harvest will not come. Tremble, O ones at ease; quake, O secure ones; strip yourselves and make yourselves bare, and gird upon your loins. For breasts they are lamenting over the fields of delight, over the fruitful vine, over the land of my people where thorns and briers come up; yes, over all the houses of joy in the jubilant city. For the palace will be forsaken, the clamor of the city will be forsaken, and the citadel32.14 Or the hill; Hebrew the Ophel and watchtower will become as dens even to forever— the joy of wild donkeys, a pasture for flocks— until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high and the wilderness becomes as a fertile field and the fertile field is considered as a forest. Then justice will settle down in the wilderness and righteousness will dwell in the fertile field. And the work of righteousness will be peace, and the labor of righteousness quiet and security even to forever. And My people will settle in an abode of peace, and in dwelling places of security and quiet places of rest. And it will hail in the going down of the forest, and the city will be brought utterly low. Blessed are you⁺ who are sowing beside all waters, sending out the feet of the ox and the donkey. Yahweh Is Exalted Woe, O destroyer, even you never destroyed, and you treacherous one, and they have never betrayed him! At the completion of your destroying, you will be destroyed; as you finish being treacherous, they will deal treacherously with you. O YHWH, show favor to us; we wait for You! Be their arm in the mornings, also our salvation in the time of distress. From the voice of roaring the peoples will flee, from Your rising up the nations will be scattered. Your⁺ plunder will be gathered as gathers the locust; as the rushing of locusts shall he run upon it. YHWH is exalted, for He dwells on high; He has filled Zion with justice and righteousness. He will be the steadfastness of your times, and a wealth of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge— the fear of YHWH is his treasure. Behold, “Their Ariel” they have cried outside; the messengers of peace do weep bitterly. For the highways are desolate, the road has ceased from those traveling. He has broken the covenant;33.8 Or the treaty he has despised the witnesses;33.8 DSS; MT the cities he has not regarded man. The land mourns and languishes; Lebanon is ashamed and decays; Sharon has become like the Arabah, and Bashan and Carmel shake off. “Now I will arise,” says YHWH; “Now I will be exalted, now I will lift Myself up! You⁺ conceive chaff, you⁺ give birth to stubble. Your⁺ breath like a fire will devour you⁺. And the people will be like the burnings of lime, cut thorns, they will be burned in the fire. Hear, far away ones, what I have done, and acknowledge, near ones, My might.” The sinful ones in Zion are afraid, trembling has seized the godless: “Who of us can dwell with a consuming fire? Who of us can dwell with burnings forever?” The one walking righteously and speaking uprightly; the one rejecting the gain of oppression, shaking his hands away from grasping at a bribe; the one shutting his ears from hearing of bloodshed and closing his eyes from looking at evil; He will dwell on the heights; strongholds in the cliffs are his refuge; his bread will be given, his water will be sure. Your eyes will gaze at the King in His beauty; they will see a land faraway. Your heart will ponder the terror: “Where is the one counting? Where is the one weighing? Where is the one counting the towers?” A fierce people you will not see, a people in the depths of speech, beyond hearing, a stammering of the tongue without understanding. Look upon Zion, the city of our appointed feasts; let your eyes look on Jerusalem— a quiet abode, a tent that does not wander; will not be pulled out one of its pegs forever, and all of its cords cannot be broken. But there YHWH is majestic for us, a place of rivers and streams broad of hands, where no fleet with oar shall go on it, and a majestic ship will not pass over it. For YHWH is the One judging us; YHWH is the One decreeing for us; YHWH is our King; He will save us. Your ropes are slack— they cannot hold the firmness of their mast; they cannot spread out the sail. Then the prey will be divided, plunder in great abundance— even the lame will seize the spoils! And the dweller will not say “I am sick;” for the people dwelling in it will be lifted of iniquity. Judgment on the Nations Come near, O nations, to hear; and pay attention O peoples! Let the earth hear, and its fullness, the world, and all its offspring. For wrath is unto YHWH against all the nations, and rage against all their hosts; He has devoted them to destruction,34.2 Forms of the Hebrew cherem refer to the giving over of things or persons, either by destroying them or by giving them as an offering; also in verse 5. He has given them over to the slaughter! And their slain will be thrown out, and from their corpses their stench will rise, and the mountains will flow with their blood. And all the host of heavens will be made to rot, and the heavens will be rolled up like a scroll; and all their host will fade away, like the fading of a leaf from the vine and like a falling from a fig tree. Judgment on Edom (Isaiah 21:11–12) For in the heavens My sword has drunk its fill; behold, upon Edom it will come down, and upon the people I have devoted to judgment. The sword of YHWH has been full of blood, dripping with fat and with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams; for a sacrifice is unto YHWH in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Edom. And the wild oxen will go down with them and the young bulls with the mighty ones; and their land will be watered with blood, and their dust will be soaked with fat. For a day of vengeance is unto YHWH, a year of recompense for the cause of Zion.34.8 Or of recompense for (Edom’s) hostility against Zion. And her streams will be turned to pitch, and her dust to brimstone, and her land will become a burning pitch. Night and day it will not be quenched; her smoke will ascend forever; she will be desolate from generation to generation; no one will pass through her forever and ever; and the hawk and the hedgehog will dispossess her, and the owl and the raven will dwell in her;34.11 The precise identification of these birds is uncertain. and He will stretch out over her a measuring line of confusion, and a plumb line of emptiness. And nothing is there for her nobles to call a kingdom, and all her princes will be nothing. And thorns will come up in her palaces, thistles and briers in her fortresses; and she will be a habitation of jackals,34.13 Or serpents or dragons a courtyard for daughters of the ostrich.34.13 Or for daughters of the owl And the desert creatures will meet with the jackals, and the wild goat will bleat alongside his companion; indeed, Lilith34.14 Or the night creature will rest there and find for herself a place of rest, There the owl will nest and lay and hatch and gather them under her shadow; even there will gather the birds of prey, each with her mate. Search from the book of YHWH and recite: Not one of these will go missing, a female will not lack her mate. For His mouth has commanded it, and by His Spirit He has gathered them. And He has cast in it a lot, and His hand has divided it among them with a measuring line; even to forever they will possess it; for generation and generation they will dwell in it. The Glory of Zion The desert and the dry land will be glad, and the desert plain will rejoice and blossom like the rose. It will blossom profusely and rejoice even with joy and singing; the glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon— they will see the glory of YHWH, the splendor of our God. Strengthen the limp hands and make firm the feeble knees. 35.3 Cited in Hebrews 12:12 Say to the hastened of heart, “Be strong, do not fear! Behold your⁺ God—He comes with vengeance, with the recompense of God He will come and save you⁺.” Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf will be unstopped; then the lame one will leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute one will sing. For waters will burst forth in the wilderness, and torrents in the desert plain; and the parched ground will become like a pool, and the thirsty land like springs of water; in the abode where jackals35.7 Or serpents or dragons once lay, will be grass with reeds and papyrus. And a highway will be there, and a way, and it will be called the Way of Holiness; the unclean will not pass over it, and it is for those walking the Way, and fools will not wander it. No lion will be there, and the violent beasts will not go up on it; it will not be found there, but the redeemed will walk it. And the ransomed of YHWH will return, and will they will enter Zion with singing, and with joy everlasting on their heads; joy and gladness will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee. Sennacherib Threatens Jerusalem (2 Kings 18:13–37; 2 Chronicles 32:1–8) And it came to pass in the fourteenth … year of king Hezekiah that Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah, and he captured them. And the king of Assyria sent the Rabshakeh36.2 Hebrew Rab-shakeh is the title of a high-ranking Assyrian military officer; here and throughout chapters 36 and 37, as well as 2 Kings 18 and 19 from Lachish to Jerusalem, to king Hezekiah, with a great army; and he stood by the conduit of the upper pool on the highway to the Field of Fuller. And went out to him Eliakim son of Hilkiah, who was over the house, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah son of Asaph the recorder. And the Rabshakeh said to them, “Say, please, to Hezekiah, thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: ‘What is this confidence with which you are confident? You speak36.5 See DSS and 2 Kings 18:20; MT I speak. a mere word of the lips is counsel and strength for the battle? Now, in whom are you trusting, that you have rebelled against me? Behold, are you trusting in the staff of this broken reed in Egypt, which a man who leans on it, it will go into his palm and pierce it! So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all those trusting in him. But if you say to me, ‘In YHWH our God we trust,’ is it not He for whom His high places and His altars, Hezekiah has turned aside, and said to Judah and to Jerusalem, ‘Before this altar you⁺ shall worship? And now, make a wager, please, with my lord the king of Assyria, and I will give to you two thousand horses—if you are able to set for you riders on them. And how can you turn back the faces of one among a governor of the least servants of my lord, and place your trust in Egypt for chariot and horsemen? And now, was it without YHWH that I came up against this land to destroy it? YHWH has said to me, ‘Go up against this land and destroy it!’” And Eliakim said and Shebna and Joah to the Rabshakeh, “Speak, please, to your servants in Aramaic, for we understand it; and do not speak to us in Hebrew36.11 Or in the dialect of Judah; also in verse 13 in the ears of the people who are on the wall.” And the Rabshakeh said “Was it to your lord and to you that my master sent me to speak these words? Was it not to the men sitting on the wall who will eat their own dung and drink their own urine with you⁺?” And the Rabshakeh stood and called out with a great voice in Hebrew, and he said, “Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria! Thus says the king: Do not let Hezekiah deceive you⁺, for he will not be able to deliver you⁺. And do not let Hezekiah make you⁺ trust in YHWH, saying, ‘YHWH will surely deliver us; this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.’ Do not listen to Hezekiah! For thus says the king of Assyria: Make peace with me36.16 Or Make a blessing with me and come out to me, and each man will eat from his own vine and each man from his fig tree, and each man will drink the waters of his own cistern, until I come and take you⁺ to a land like your⁺ own land—a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards. Lest Hezekiah should incite you⁺ saying, ‘YHWH will surely deliver us.’ Have the gods of the nations delivered every man of his land from the hand of the king of Assyria? Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Indeed, have they delivered Samaria from my hand? Who among all the gods of these lands are they who have delivered their lands from my hand, that YHWH might deliver Jerusalem from my hand?” And they were quiet, and they did not answer him a word; for it was the command of the king saying, “Do not answer him.” And came Eliakim son of Hilkiah, who was over the house, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah son of Asaph the recorder, to Hezekiah with torn clothes, and they declared to him the words of the Rabshakeh. Isaiah’s Message of Deliverance (2 Kings 19:1–7) And it came to pass, when king Hezekiah heard it, that he tore his clothes and covered himself with sackcloth, and he entered the house of YHWH. And he sent Eliakim, who was over the house, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah son of Amoz, the prophet. And they said to him “Thus says Hezekiah: This day is a day of distress and rebuke and contempt! For sons have come to the point of birth, and there is not strength for giving birth. Perhaps YHWH your God will hear the words of the Rabshakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master has sent to defy the living God, and He will rebuke the words that YHWH your God has heard. And lift up a prayer on behalf of the remnant that is found.” And the servants of king Hezekiah came to Isaiah. And Isaiah said to them “Thus will you⁺ say to your⁺ master: Thus says YHWH, ‘Do not be afraid before the face of the words that you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me. Behold, I will put in him a spirit, and he will hear a rumor and return to his land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his land.’” Sennacherib’s Blasphemous Letter (2 Kings 19:8–13) And the Rabshakeh returned and found the king of Assyria making war against Libnah, for he had heard that he had set out from Lachish. And the king heard about Tirhakah king of Cush,37.9 That is, the upper Nile region saying, “He has come out to make war with you.” And when he heard this, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus you⁺ will speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying, ‘Let not your God deceive you, whom you trust in him, saying: Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria. For behold, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the lands, devoting them to destruction37.11 Forms of the Hebrew cherem refer to the giving over of things or persons, either by destroying them or by giving them as an offering.—and you, will you be delivered? Have the gods of the nations delivered them that my fathers have destroyed—as Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the sons of Eden who were in Telassar? Where is the king of Hamath, and the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?’” Hezekiah’s Prayer (2 Kings 19:14–19) And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it, and he went up to the house of YHWH, and Hezekiah spread it out before the face of YHWH. And Hezekiah prayed to YHWH, saying, “O YHWH of Hosts, God of Israel, the One sitting above on the cherubim, You are God—You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the heavens and the earth. Incline, O YHWH, Your ear, and hear; open, O YHWH, Your eyes, and see. And hear all the words of Sennacherib that he has sent to reproach the living God. Truly, O YHWH, the kings of Assyria have destroyed all the nations and their lands, and have given their gods into the fire—for they are not gods, but only the work of the hands of man—wood and stone; and they have destroyed them. And now, O YHWH our God, save us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are God, O YHWH, You alone!37.20 DSS (see also 2 Kings 19:19); MT You alone are YHWH Sennacherib’s Fall Prophesied (2 Kings 19:20–34) And Isaiah son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus says YHWH God of Israel: Because you have prayed to Me regarding Sennacherib king of Assyria, this is the word that YHWH has spoken concerning him: ‘She despises you, and mocks you— the virgin the daughter of Zion. The daughter of Jerusalem shakes the head behind you. Whom have you taunted and blasphemed, and against whom have you raised the voice and lifted on high your eyes? Against the Holy One of Israel! By the hand of your servants you have reproached the Lord, and you have said, “By the multitude of my chariots I have gone up to the height of the mountains, to the sides of Lebanon; and I have cut down the tallest of its cedars, the choicest of its cypress trees;37.24 Or pines or junipers or firs and I have come to the height of its end, the forest of its Carmel. I have dug, and I have drunk foreign37.25 DSS (see also 2 Kings 19:24); MT does not include foreign. water, and I have dried up with the soles of my feet all the rivers of Egypt.” Have you not heard? Long ago I made it, from days of old I formed it? Now I am bringing it to pass, that you should crash into heaps of ruins fortified cities. And their dwellers, short of hand, were dismayed and put to shame; they have become a plant of the field and green grass, grass on the rooftops, scorched37.27 DSS, some MT manuscripts, and some LXX manuscripts (see also 2 Kings 19:26); most MT manuscripts on the rooftops and field before it is grown. I have known and your sitting down and your going out and your coming in, and your raging against Me. Because your raging against Me and your arrogance have come up into My ears, I will put My hook in your nose, and My bridle on your lips, and I will turn you back to the way that you came by it.’ And this is to you a sign: This year you will eat the aftergrowth, and in the second year what springs forth, and in the third year you will sow and reap and plant vineyards and eat their fruit. And again will the surivors of the house of Judah, those remaining, take root beneath and produce fruit above. For a remnant will go forth from Jerusalem, and a survivor from Mount Zion; the zeal of YHWH of Hosts will do this. Therefore thus says YHWH concerning the king of Assyria: ‘He will not come into this city, and he will not shoot an arrow there, and not come before it with shields, and not pour out against it a siege mound. By the way that he came, by it will he return, and into this’ city he will not enter! A declaration of YHWH. ‘And I will cover over this city to save it for My own sake, and for the sake of David My servant.’” Jerusalem Delivered from the Assyrians (2 Kings 19:35–37; 2 Chronicles 32:20–23) And the angel of YHWH went forth and killed in the camp of Assyria a hundred and eighty-five thousand; and they rose early in the morning, and behold—all of them were dead corpses. And he pulled out and went away, and Sennacherib king of Assyria returned and dwelt in Nineveh. And it came to pass, as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sarezer his sons struck him with the sword, and they escaped to the land of Ararat. And Esar-haddon his son reigned in his place. Hezekiah’s Illness and Recovery (2 Kings 20:1–11; 2 Chronicles 32:24–31) In those days Hezekiah was sick unto death. And came to him Isaiah son of Amoz the prophet, and he said to him, “Thus says YHWH: ‘Set in order your house, for you are going to die, and you will not live!’” And Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall and prayed to YHWH, and he said, “I pray you, O YHWH, remember please how I have walked before Your face in truth and with a complete heart, and I have done what is good in your eyes.” And Hezekiah wept with great weeping. And the word of YHWH came to Isaiah, saying, “Go and say to Hezekiah: Thus says YHWH the God of David your father, ‘I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears; Behold I will add to your days fifteen years. And I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will cover over this city.38.6 MT and LXX; DSS includes for My sake and for the sake of My servant David; see 2 Kings 20:6. And this is to you the sign from YHWH that YHWH will do this thing that He has spoken: Behold, I am bringing back the shadow on the stairs, which has gone down on the stairs of Ahaz, with the sun backward ten steps.’” And the sun was turned back ten steps on the steps that it had gone down. Hezekiah’s Song of Thanksgiving The writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, in his being sick and restored to life from his sickness: I said, “In the prime38.10 Or In the quiet or In the middle of my life I will go inside the gates of Sheol; I am consigned there for the remainder of my years.” I said, “I will not see YAH— YAH in the land of the living. I will look on mankind no more among those dwelling in the world. My dwelling has been pulled up and removed from me like the tent of a shepherd; I have gathered up my life like a weaver; from the loom He cuts me off; from day until night You make an end of me. I composed myself38.13 Or I cried out; see Targum Yonaton. until morning; like a lion, thus He breaks all my bones; from day until night You make an end of me. Like a swallow or crane, so I chirp; I moan like a dove; my eyes are worn out from up high. O Lord, oppression is unto me; be my security!” What can I say? For He has said it to me and He Himself has done it. I move about all my days upon the bitterness of my soul. O Lord, upon these they live; and in all of them is the life of my spirit; and You have restored me and have let me live. Behold, for my wellbeing great bitterness was unto me; and You have held back my soul from the pit of oblivion, for You have cast behind Your back all my sins. For Sheol cannot thank You nor death praise You; those going down to the Pit cannot have hope for Your faithfulness. The living, the living—he shall thank You as I do this day. A father to sons makes known about Your faithfulness. YHWH will save me, and strings we will pluck all the days of our lives in the house of YHWH. And Isaiah said, “Let them take a cake of figs and apply it upon the boil, that he may live.” And Hezekiah said, “What is the sign that I will go up to the house of YHWH?” Hezekiah Shows His Treasures (2 Kings 20:12–19) At that time, Merodach-Baladan son of Baladan king of Babylon sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah, for he had heard that he had been sick and had regained strength. And Hezekiah was glad over them, and he showed them the house of his treasure, the silver and the gold, and the spices, and the precious oil, and all the house of his armory, and all that was found in his storehouses. There was not a thing in his house or in all his dominion that Hezekiah did not show them. And Isaiah the prophet came to king Hezekiah and said to him, “What did these men say, and from where did they come to you? And Hezekiah said, “From a land far off—they have come to me from Babylon.” And he said “What have they seen in your house?” And Hezekiah said, “All that is in my house they have seen; there is not a thing that I have not shown them among my treasures.” And Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of YHWH of hosts: Behold, the days are coming when it will be carried off—all that is in your house and that your fathers have stored up until this day—to Babylon; not a thing will be left, says YHWH. And from the sons who will come forth from you, whom you will beget, they will take away; and they will be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.” And Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “Good is the word of YHWH that you have spoken.” And he said, “For there will be peace and security in my days.” Prepare the Way for Yahweh (Matthew 3:1–12; Mark 1:1–8; Luke 3:1–20; John 1:19–28) “Comfort, comfort My people,” says your⁺ God. “Speak upon the heart of Jerusalem, and call out to her, that her service has been fulfilled, that her iniquity has been pardoned, for she has received from the hand of YHWH double for all her sins.” The voice of one calling in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of YHWH, make straight in the desert plain a highway for our God. 40.3 LXX make straight the paths of our God; cited in Matthew 3:3, Mark 1:3, Luke 3:4, and John 1:23 Every valley will be lifted up, and every mountain and hill brought low; and the crooked will become straight, and the rugged a plain;40.4 LXX Every valley shall be filled in, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low. All the crooked ways shall become straight, and the rough places plains. Cited in Luke 3:5 and the glory of YHWH will be revealed, and all flesh together will see it.40.5 LXX will see the salvation of God; cited in Luke 3:6 For the mouth of YHWH has spoken.” The Enduring Word (1 Peter 1:22–25) The voice of one saying: “Call out!” And he said, “What shall I call out?” “All flesh is grass, and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades, because the breath of YHWH blows on it. Surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, and the word of our God stands forever.40.8 Cited in 1 Peter 1:24–25” Here Is Your God! (Romans 11:33–36) Upon a high mountain go up yourself, O Zion, bringing news! Lift up with strength your voice to Jerusalem, bringing news! Lift it up,40.9 Or O herald of good news to Zion, go up on a high mountain. O herald of good news to Jerusalem, lift it up, do not be afraid! Say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your⁺ God!” Behold, the Lord YHWH will come with might, and His arm will rule for Him. Behold, His reward is with Him and His work is before His face. Like a shepherd He will pasture His flock; He gathers the lambs with His arm, and in His bosom He carries them, the nursing ones He leads. Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand and marked off the heavens with a handspan, and has held the dust of the earth in a measure, and has weighed the mountains on a scale, and the hills in scales? Who has directed the Spirit of YHWH, or informed Him as the man of His counsel?40.13 Or mind of YHWH; see also LXX. 40.13 Cited in Romans 11:34 and 1 Corinthians 2:16 With whom did he counsel, and who gave Him understanding and instructed Him in the path of justice? And who taught Him knowledge, and informed Him the way of understanding? Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and they have been reckoned like dust of the scales! Behold, the islands40.15 Or coastlands He lifts up like fine dust, and Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, and its beasts are not sufficient for a burnt offering. All the nations are as nothing before Him, they are counted by Him as less than nothing and emptiness. And to whom would you⁺ liken God? And what likeness will you⁺ arrange for Him? To an idol a craftsman casts, and a metalworker overlays it with gold and fits with chains of silver? One bereft of a contribution chooses a tree not rotten, and a skillful craftsman seeks out for himself to prepare a carved image that will not topple? Do you⁺ not know? Have you⁺ not heard? Has it not been declared from the beginning to you⁺? Have you⁺ not understood from the foundations of the earth? He is sitting above the circle of the earth, and its dwellers are like grasshoppers; He stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and He spreads them out like a tent to dwell in. The One giving the rulers to nothingness, He makes the rulers40.23 Or judges of the earth as emptiness. Yes, they are hardly planted; yes, they are hardly sown; Yes their stem has hardly taken root in the earth. And also He will blow on them, and they will wither, and the tempest will carry them off like the stubble. “And to whom will you⁺ liken Me? Or who is My equal?” Says the Holy One. Lift up your⁺ eyes on high and see who has created these things— the One having brought forth by number their host. He calls to them all by name; by the greatness of might and the strength of power, not one is missing. Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, “My way Is hidden from YHWH, and my claim is passed over by my God”? Have you not known? Or have you not heard? God everlasting is YHWH, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint and He does not grow weary; there is no searching out of His understanding. He gives power to the weary, and to those with no might, He increases strength. Even youths will faint and grow weary, and young men will stumble and fall; and those waiting on YHWH will renew their strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint. God’s Help to Israel “Be silent before Me, O islands,41.1 Or coastlands; also in verse 5 and the peoples will renew their strength; let them draw near, then let them speak; together let us come near for judgment. Who has roused one from the east? Righteousness calls him at His feet;41.2 Or from the east, whom victory meets at every step He gives the nations before his face, and he subdues kings; he makes them like dust with his sword, driven away as stubble by his bow. He pursues them, passing over in peace, a path he does not enter with his feet. Who has worked and accomplished? The One calling the generations from the beginning: “I am YHWH, the first and the last; I am He!” The islands have seen it and feared; the ends of the earth tremble. They approach and come forward: Each man helps his neighbor and says to his brother, “Be strong.” And the craftsman strengthens the goldsmith, the one smoothing with the hammer, the one striking the anvil, saying of the joining, “It is Good!”— And he strengthens it with nails, and it will not be toppled. “And you, O Israel, My servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, seed of Abraham My friend, whom I have taken from the ends of the earth and called you from its corners, and said to you ‘You are My servant, I have chosen you and not rejected you’— do not be afraid, for I am with you; do not look around, for I am your God. I have strengthened you; yes, I have helped you— yes, have I taken hold of you with the right hand of My righteousness. Behold, all those burning against you, they will be ashamed and disgraced; they will be as nothing, and the men of your dispute will perish. You will seek them, and will not find them, the men of your dispute will be as nothing, the men of your warfare as nothing at all. For I am YHWH your God, taking hold of your right hand, saying to you: Do not fear; I have helped you! Do not fear, O worm of Jacob, O men of Israel; I have helped you, a declaration of YHWH, And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel. Behold, I am making you sharp, into a new threshing sledge, an owner of teeth; and you will thresh the mountains and crush them, and you will make the hills like chaff. You will winnow them, and the wind will carry them away, and the tempest will scatter them; and you will rejoice in YHWH; you will glory in the Holy One of Israel. The poor and the needy seek water, and there is none; their tongues are dry with thirst. I, YHWH, will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. I will open rivers on the barren heights, and fountains in the middle of the valleys; I will make the desert into a pool of water, and the dry land into flowing springs of water. I will plant the cedar in the wilderness, and the acacia, and the myrtle, and the olive tree; I will place in the desert plain the cypress, elm, and boxwood together— 41.19 Or pine or juniper or fir that they may see and know, and consider and understand together, that the hand of YHWH has done this, and the Holy One of Israel has created it.” Meaningless Idols “Bring near your⁺ case,” says YHWH; “Put forth your⁺ arguments,” says the King of Jacob. “Let them approach, and declare to us what will happen. The former things, what were they? Declare it, that we may set it in our heart and know the last things; or declare to us the coming things. Declare the things to come hereafter, that we may know if you⁺ are gods; yes, do good or do evil, that we may look and see together. Behold, you⁺ are nothing, and your⁺ work is worthless— an abomination is he who chooses you⁺! I have roused one from the north, and he has come from the rising of the sun; he calls on My name, and he comes in against princes like they were mortar, and like the potter treads the clay. Who has declared this from the beginning, that we might know, and from before the face, that we may say, ‘He is right? Surely, no one declared it; surely, no one proclaimed it; surely no one heard your⁺ words. First to Zion41.27 Or Formerly I said to Zion:— behold, behold them!— And to Jerusalem, I will give one bringing news. For I looked, and there was no man; among them, and no one was counseling, that I might ask them, and they could answer a word. Behold, all of them are delusion; their works are nothing, their molten images are wind and emptiness. Here Is My Servant (Matthew 12:15–21) “ Behold, My Servant, I take hold of him, My Chosen One, in whom My soul delights; I have put My Spirit upon Him, and He will bring forth justice to the nations. He will not cry out, and He will not lift up, and He will not make heard His voice in the street. A bruised reed He will not break, and smoldering flax He will not quench; for in faithfulness He will bring forth justice. He will not be dimmed and not be crushed,42.4 Or bruised until He has established justice on the earth, and in His law the islands will put their hope.42.4 Or In His teaching the coastlands will put their hope; LXX In His name the nations will put their hope; cited in Matthew 12:18–21” Thus says God YHWH, the One creating the heavens and stretching them out, spreading out the earth and its offspring, giving breath to the people on it and spirit to those walking on it: “I, YHWH, have called You in righteousness, and have taken hold of your hand, and watched over you and given you as a covenant to the people, as a light to the nations— to open eyes of the blind, to bring out the prisoner from the dungeon, and from the house of confinement those sitting in darkness. I am YHWH— that is My name! And My glory I will not give to another, or My praise to the idols. Behold, the former things, they have come, and new things I am declaring— before they spring forth, I proclaim them to you⁺.” A New Song of Praise (Psalm 98:1–9; Psalm 149:1–9) Sing to YHWH a new song, His praise from the end of the earth— those going down to the sea, and all that is in it; the islands,42.10 Or coastlands; also in verse 12 and those dwelling in them. Let the wilderness and its cities lift up, the villages where Kedar dwells; let those dwelling in Sela sing; let them shout from the top of the mountains. Let them give glory to YHWH and declare His praise in the islands. YHWH goes forth like a mighty one; like a man of war He stirs up zeal. He shouts, yes, He roars; over His enemies He will prevail. “I have been silent from ages past; I have been still and restrained Myself; like a woman in labor I will groan; I will gasp and pant at once. I will lay waste the mountains and hills, and all their vegetation I will dry up; and I will turn the rivers into islands,42.15 Or coastlands or islands and the pools I will dry up. And the blind I will bring by a way they did not know; I will lead them by paths they have not known; I will turn the darkness before their faces into light, and the crooked places into level ground. These are the things I will do for them and I will not forsake them. They will be turned back, they are utterly put to shame— those trusting in the idols, those saying to molten images, ‘You⁺ are our gods.’ Listen, and look O blind ones, in order to see. Israel Is Deaf and Blind O deaf ones, Who is blind, but for My servant, or deaf like My messenger I am sending? Who is blind like Meshullam or blind like the servant of YHWH? Seeing many things, you do not keep watch; opening the ears, and he does not hear.” YHWH delights on account of His righteousness, to magnify the law and make it glorious. And it is a people robbed and plundered; all of them are trapped in holes, or hidden in houses of prisoners. They have become a spoil with no rescue, a plunder and no one is saying, “Send them back!” Who among you⁺ will give ear to this? Who will listen and obey hereafter? Who gave Jacob as plunder and Israel to those plundering? Was it not YHWH, against whom we have sinned? And they were not willing to walk in His ways, and they would not obey His law. And He poured out on him the heat of His nose and the fierceness of battle; and it has set him on fire all around, and he did not know it, and it burned him, and he did not set it upon his heart. Israel’s Only Savior And, thus says YHWH, the One creating you, O Jacob, and the One forming you, O Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you, I have called you by your name; you are unto Me. When you pass through the waters, I am with you, and through the rivers, they will not engulf you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched; and the flame will not burn you. For I, YHWH, am your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I have given Egypt for your ransom, Cush43.3 That is, the upper Nile region and Seba in your place. Since you are precious in My eyes, You have been honored, and I love you. And I appoint man in place of you, and peoples in exchange for your soul. Do not fear, for I am with you; from the east I will bring your seed, and from the west I will gather you. I will say to the north, ‘Give! And to the south, ‘Restrain!’ Do not bring My sons from afar, and My daughters from the ends of the earth— all being called by My name— and for My glory I have created him; I have formed him; yes, I have made him!’” Bring forth a people blind, and who have eyes, and deaf, and ears are unto them! All the nations will be gathered together, and the peoples will be assembled. Who among them can declare this, and former things report to us? Let them give their witnesses, that they may be justified, and hear and say, “It is the truth.” “You⁺ are My witnesses,” a declaration of YHWH, “And My servant whom I have chosen, that you⁺ may know and believe in Me, and understand that I am He. Before Me no god was formed, and none will be after Me. I—I am YHWH, and besides Me there is no one saving. I have declared it and saved and proclaimed, and there is no one strange among you⁺! And you⁺ are My witnesses,” a declaration of YHWH, “And I am God. Also from today, I am He— and there is no one snatching from My hand; I act, and who can turn it back?” A Way in the Wilderness Thus says YHWH, your⁺ Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “For your⁺ sake I will send to Babylon and bring them all down as fugitives, and the Chaldeans43.14 That is, the Babylonians in the ships of their rejoicing. I am YHWH, your⁺ Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your⁺ King.” Thus says YHWH, the One giving a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters; the One bringing forth the chariot and horse, the army and its might together; they will lie down, and they will not rise; they are extinguished; like a wick they are quenched. “Do not remember the former things, and the things before do not consider. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth—do you⁺ not know it? Indeed I am making a way in the wilderness, streams in the wasteland. The beast of the field will honor Me, the jackals43.20 Or serpents or dragons and daughters of the ostrich,43.20 Or daughters of the owl because I give waters in the wilderness, streams in the wasteland, to give drink to My people, My chosen, this people I have formed for Myself— they will recount My praise. Israel’s Unfaithfulness (Judges 2:10–15; Jeremiah 2:23–37) And not Me you have called, O Jacob, for you have grown weary of Me, O Israel. You have not brought to Me sheep as your burnt offerings, and with your sacrifices you have not honored Me; I have not made you serve with grain offerings, and I have not wearied you with incense. You have not bought Me sweet cane with silver, and with the fat of your sacrifices you have not satisfied Me; but you have made Me serve with your sins and have wearied Me with your iniquities. I—I am He, the One wiping out your transgressions for My own sake, and your sins I will not remember. Remind Me, let us argue together; give an account for yourself, that you may be vindicated! Your first father sinned, and your spokesmen have rebelled against me. And I will defile the princes of the sanctuary, and I will devote Jacob to destruction,43.28 Forms of the Hebrew cherem refer to the giving over of things or persons to YHWH, either by destroying them or by giving them as an offering. and Israel to reviling.” Yahweh Has Chosen Israel And now listen, O Jacob My servant, and Israel, whom I have chosen! Thus says YHWH, the One having made you and having formed you from the womb, who will help you: “Do not fear, My servant Jacob, and Jeshurun,44.2 Jeshurun means the upright one, a term of endearment for Israel. whom I have chosen. For I will pour water upon a thirsty one, and streams upon the dry ground; I will pour My Spirit upon your seed, and My blessing upon your offspring. And they will sprout up among the grass, like willows44.4 Or poplars by streams of water. This one will say ‘I am unto YHWH and this one will call himself by the name of Jacob; and this one will write on his hand ‘Unto YHWH,’ and will address himself by the name of Israel.” Thus says YHWH, the King of Israel and his Redeemer—YHWH of Hosts: “I am the First, and I am the Last, and besides Me there are no gods. And who is like Me? Let him call and declare it, and arrange it for Me, from My putting forth the people of old, and the things to come and what is coming, let them declare it themselves! Do not dread and do not be afraid! Have I not long ago reported it to you and declared it? And you⁺ are My witnesses: Is there a God besides Me? And there is no Rock— not one” I know. Those fashioning an idol—all of them are nothing, and their delights cannot benefit. And their own witnesses, they cannot see, and they do not know, so they are put to shame. Who would fashion a god, or cast an idol, that gives no benefit? Behold, all its companions will be put to shame, and its craftsmen, for they are of men. All of them, let them gather, let them take their stand; let them dread, let them be ashamed together! The craftsman of iron has an ax and works over the coal, and with hammers he fashions it, and works it with the strength of his arm. Even so he grows hungry, and has no strength; he does not drink water, and he becomes faint. The craftsman of wood stretches out the measuring-line; he traces it with the stylus, he fashions it with the chisel, and he marks it out with the compass; he makes it like the figure of a man, like the splendor of mankind, that it may dwell in a house. He cuts down for himself cedars and takes cypress44.14 Or pine or juniper or fir and oak. And he gives strength to it among the trees of the forest. He plants a fir-tree, and the rain makes it grow, and it is for man to burn. And he takes from it and warms himself; also he kindles a fire and bakes bread; also he makes a god and bows down to it; he makes it a carved image and falls down before it! Half of it he burns in the fire, on half of it he eats meat; he roasts a roast and is satisfied; also, he warms himself and says, “Ah, I am warm, I have seen the fire!” And the rest of it he makes into a god, as his idol; he bows down before it, and he bows down and prays to it and says, “Deliver me, for you are my god!” They do not know and they do not understand, for He has covered over their eyes from seeing, their hearts from understanding. And no one turns it back to his heart, and there is no knowledge and no understanding to say, “Half of it I burned in the fire, and also I have baked bread on its coals and roasted meat, and I have eaten. Shall I make the rest of it into an abomination? Shall I fall down before a block of wood?” He grazes on ashes, a deceived heart has stretched him aside; and he cannot deliver his soul, and he does not say, “Is not a lie in my right hand?” Jerusalem to Be Restored Remember these things, O Jacob, and Israel, for you are My servant. I have formed you, you are My servant, O Israel; you will not be forgotten by Me. I have blotted out like a cloud your transgressions, and like a mist your sins; return to Me, for I have redeemed you. Sing out, O heavens, for YHWH has done it! Give a shout, O lower parts of the earth! Break forth O mountains, into singing, O forest and every tree in it. For YHWH has redeemed Jacob, and in Israel He has glorified Himself. Thus says YHWH, your Redeemer, and the One forming you from the womb: “I am YHWH, the One making all things, the One stretching out the heavens by Myself alone, the One spreading out the earth—who besides Me— breaking the omens of devisers, and making fools of those devining; the One turning the wise ones backward, and making their knowledge foolish; the One making stand the word of His servant and fufilling the counsel of His messengers; the One saying of Jerusalem, ‘She will be inhabited;’ and of the cities of Judah, ‘They will be rebuilt, and her ruins I will raise up;’ the One saying to the deep, ‘Be dry, and your rivers I will dry up;’ the One saying of Cyrus, ‘He is My shepherd and all My delight he will fulfill,’ and saying of Jerusalem, ‘She will be rebuilt,’ and of the temple, ‘Let its foundation be laid.’” God Calls Cyrus (2 Chronicles 36:22–23; Ezra 1:1–4) Thus says YHWH to His anointed, to Cyrus, of whose right hand I have taken hold to subdue nations before his face; and I will open the loins of kings— to open doors before his face, so that the gates will not be shut: “I will go before you, and I will level the mountains;45.2 DSS and LXX; MT level the exalted places the gates of bronze I will break apart, and the bars of iron I will cut through. And I will give to you the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, so that you may know that I am YHWH, the One calling you by your name, the God of Israel, for the sake of My servant Jacob, and Israel My chosen one— and I have called you by your name; I give you a name, though you have not known Me. I am YHWH, and there is no other; besides Me there are no gods. I will gird you, though you have not known Me, so that they may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides Me. I am YHWH, and there is no other— forming the light and creating darkness, making peace and creating calamity— I am YHWH, the One doing all these things! Rain down, O heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness; let the earth open up, and let sprout up salvation and righteousness— let it spring up together! I, YHWH, have created it. Woe to the one striving with the One having formed him— a potsherd among the potsherds of the earth! Shall the clay say to the one fashioning it, ‘What are you doing?’’ Or ‘Your work has no hands unto it!’? 45.9 Cited in Romans 9:20 Woe to the one saying to his father, ‘What are you begetting? Or to a woman, ‘What have you brought forth?” Thus says YHWH, the Holy One of Israel, and the One having made him: “Will you⁺ ask Me of things to come? About My sons and about the work of My hands, will you⁺ command Me? I have made the earth, and I have created man on it; My hands have stretched out the heavens, and all their host I have commanded! I have stirred him up in righteousness, and all his ways I will make straight; he will build My city, and My captive ones he will send out, not for a price and not for a bribe, says YHWH of Hosts.” Thus says YHWH: “The labor of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush,45.14 That is, the upper Nile region and of the Sabeans—men of stature— to you they will pass over, and unto you they will be. Behind you they will walk, in chains they will pass by, and to you they will bow down, to you they will plead: ‘Surely God is with you, and there is no other— only God!’” Truly You are God, the hidden One, O God of Israel, the One saving! They have been put to shame and also disgraced—all of them; together they will go forth in disgrace, the makers of idols. Israel has been saved by YHWH, a salvation everlasting! You⁺ will not be put to shame and not disgraced, even to ages—everlasting! For thus says YHWH, the One creating the heavens—He is God— the One forming the earth and making it— He has established it; not as a void did He create it; to be inhabited He formed it: “I am YHWH, and there is no other. I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the land; I have not said to the seed of Jacob, ‘Seek Me in vain!’ I am YHWH, the One speaking righteousness, declaring uprightness. Assemble yourselves and come, draw near together, O fugitives of the nations! They do not know it, those carrying the wood of their idol and praying to a god that cannot save. Declare it and approach, even let them take counsel together: Who has reported this from of old, from that time having declared it? Is it not I, YHWH? And there is no other God besides Me, and a righteous God bringing salvation there is none besides 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, righteousness has gone forth from My mouth, a word that not will turn back; indeed, before Me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear. 45.23 LXX every tongue will swear by God; cited in Romans 14:11 ‘Only in YHWH—of Me He said— are righteousness and strength!’” They will come to Him and will be ashamed, all those raging against Him. In YHWH all the seed of Israel will be justified and will glory. Babylon’s Idols Bel bows down, Nebo is stooping low; their idols are on the beasts and on the cattle, these carried by you⁺ were heavy laden a burden to the weary. They stoop low, they bend down together; they could not deliver the burden, and their souls have gone into captivity. “Listen to Me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, those having been upheld from birth, having been carried from the womb: Even to your old age, I am He; and until gray hair, I will bear you up; I have done it—and I will lift, and I will bear and will deliver you. To whom will you⁺ liken Me and make Me equal and compare Me, that we should be alike? Those lavishing gold from the bag and weighing silver on the scales, they hire a goldsmith, that he might make it a god. They bow low, even bow down; they bear it on a shoulder, they carry it and set it in its place, and it stands— from its place it will not move; though one may cry out to it, and it will not answer; from his distress it will not save him. Remember this and be men; take it back, O transgressors, to heart! Remember the former things of old: For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and none is like Me— declaring from the beginning the end, and from of old that which has not been done, saying, ‘My counsel will stand, and I will do all My delight;’ the One calling from the east a bird of prey, the man of My counsel from a country far away— indeed, I have spoken it and so I will bring it to pass; I have fashioned it, I will also do it. Listen to Me, O obstinate of heart, far from righteousness! I have brought near My righteousness; it is not far off; and My salvation—it will not be delayed; and I have given to Zion salvation, to Israel My splendor. The Humiliation of Babylon “ Go down and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon! Sit on the ground without a throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans!47.1 That is, the Babylonians; also in verse 5 For no longer will they call you tender and delicate. Take the millstones and grind flour! Uncover your veil and strip away your skirt; uncover your thigh; pass over the rivers! Your nakedness will be uncovered— indeed, your shame will be seen! I will take vengeance, and no man will I meet.” Our Redeemer—YHWH of hosts is His name— is the Holy One of Israel. “Sit in silence and go into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans! For you no longer will be called Queen of Kingdoms. I was angry with My people; I have profaned My heritage and I have given them into your hand. You did not appoint for them acts of mercy; upon the elderly you made your yoke very heavy. And you said, ‘Forever will I be, queen!’ For you did not set these things upon your heart, and you did not consider its end. And now, hear this, O luxurious one, dwelling in security, the one saying in her heart, ‘It is I and no one else! I will not sit as a widow, and I will not know bereavement.’ And these two things will come to you in a moment, in a single day: Bereavement and widowhood. In full measure they will come upon you in the multitude of your sorceries, in the great abundance of you spells. For you have trusted in your wickedness; and you have said, ‘There is none seeing me!’ Your wisdom and your knowledge, it has turned you away, so that you have said in your heart, ‘It is I, and no one else!’ And evil will come upon you, and you will not know its dawning; and disaster will fall upon you; you will not be able to wipe it away— and it will come upon you suddenly, devastation that you do not know! Stand now with your spells, and with the multitude of your sorceries with which you have labored from your youth! Perhaps you will be able to profit, perhaps you will inspire terror! You are wearied by the multitude of your counselors; let them stand up now and save you— those who divide up the heavens, and those gazing on the stars, declaring by month what will come upon you! Behold, they have become like stubble, and the fire burns them up; they will not deliver their soul from the hand of the flame— there is not a coal to warm, nor fire to sit before it! Thus they have become to you— those with whom you have labored and traded from youth! Each man in his direction, they go astray; none can save you. Israel’s Stubbornness “ Hear this, O house of Jacob, those being called by the name of Israel and having come forth from the wellsprings of Judah, and those swearing by the name of YHWH and calling to mind the God of Israel, not in truth and not in righteousness! Indeed, they have been called from the city of holiness, and upon the God of Israel they have leaned— YHWH of Hosts is His name. The former things of old I have declared, and from My mouth they went forth, and I caused them to be heard— I acted suddenly, and they came to pass. From my knowing that you are obstinate, and your neck is an iron sinew, and your forehead bronze, and I declared to you from then, before it came to pass; I informed you, lest you should say, ‘My idol has done them, and my carved image and my molten image has commanded them!’ You have heard—see all of it— and will you⁺ not declare it? I make you to hear new things from now, and hidden things that you did not know. Now they have been created, and not from then; and before this day, and you did not hear of them, lest you should say, ‘Behold, I knew them.’ Indeed, you have not heard; indeed you have not known; even from long ago your ear was not opened; for I knew that you would be utterly treacherous, and ‘one rebelling from the womb’ is it called out for you. For the sake of My name, I will lengthen My nose, and for My praise I will hold it back from you, so as to not cut you off. Behold, I have refined you, and not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. For My own sake, My very own sake, I will act— for how can I let Myself be profaned! And My glory I will give not to another. Deliverance Promised to Israel Listen to Me, O Jacob, and Israel, My called one! I am He; I am the First; also I am the Last. Surely My own hand founded the earth, and My right hand spread out the heavens; I call to them; they stand up together. Assemble, all of you⁺, and hear! Who among them has declared these things? YHWH has loved him; He will accomplish His desire against Babylon, and His arm against the Chaldeans.48.14 That is, the Babylonians; also in verse 20 I, I have spoken, yes, I have called him; I have brought him and he has made prosperous his way. Come near to Me, hear this! From the beginning I have not spoken in secret; from the time of its coming to be, there” I am. And now, the Lord YHWH has sent me, and His Spirit. Thus says YHWH your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am YHWH your God the One teaching you to profit, the One leading you by the way you should go. If only you had paid attention to My commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea; and your seed would have been like the sand, and the offspring of your bowels like its grains. It would not have been cut off and not destroyed— His name from before Me!” Go forth from Babylon! Flee from the Chaldeans! With a voice ringing out, declare it, let this be heard; let it go forth to the end of the earth! Say, “YHWH has redeemed His servant Jacob.” And they did not thirst in the deserts when He led them; He made flow the waters from the rock for them, and He split the rock, and the waters gushed out. “There is no peace,” says YHWH, “For the wicked.” The Servant and Light to the Gentiles (Acts 13:42–52) Listen, O islands,49.1 Or coastlands to me, and pay attention, O peoples from afar! YHWH has called me from the womb, from the bowels of my mother He has brought to mind my name. And He set my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of His hand He has hidden me; and He set me as a polished arrow; in His quiver He has concealed me. And He said to me: “You are My servant, O Israel; in whom I will be glorified.” And I said: “In vain I have labored; I have spent My strength in futility and in emptiness. Yet surely My vindication is with YHWH, and My reward with my God.” And now, has said YHWH, the One forming Me from the womb to be a servant for Him, to bring back Jacob to Him, so that Israel to Him might be gathered— and I am honored in the eyes of YHWH, and My God is My strength— and He said: “It is a light thing that You should be My Servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; and I will give You as a light to the Gentiles, that You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth.” 49.6 Cited in Acts 13:47 Thus says YHWH, the Redeemer of Israel, his Holy One, to the one despised of soul, abhorred by the nation, to a servant of those ruling: “Kings will see it and rise, and princes will bow low for the sake of YHWH who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, and He has chosen you.” Thus says YHWH: “In a time of favor I have answered You, and on a day of salvation I have helped you; and I will watch over you and give you as a covenant for the people, to establish the land, to apportion the desolate inheritance; 49.8 LXX In the time of favor I heard You, and in the day of salvation I helped You; cited in 2 Corinthians 6:2 to say to the prisoners, ‘Go forth!’ To those in the darkness, ‘Be uncovered!’ Along the pathways they will graze, and on all the bare slopes will be their pastures. They will not hunger and they will not thirst; the sun and the scorching heat will not strike them; for the One having compassion on them will lead them, and beside the springs of water He will guide them. 49.10 Cited in Revelation 7:16 And I will make all My mountains as a road, and My highways will be raised up. Behold, these will come from afar; and behold, these from the north and the west, and these from the land of Aswan.49.12 Or from the sea 49.12 That is, a region in southern Egypt (from DSS); MT the land of Sinim Sing out, O heavens; and rejoice, O earth; and break out, O mountains, into singing! For YHWH has comforted His people, and He will have compassion on His afflicted ones. And Zion said: “YHWH has forsaken me, and my Lord has forgotten me.” “Can a woman forget her infant, having no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these she may forget, and I will not forget you. Behold, on the palms I have inscribed you; your walls are before Me continually. Your builders49.17 DSS; MT Your sons are hurrying; those overthrowing you and those destroying you will go out from you. Lift up your eyes round about, and see: All of them have gathered together, and come to you! By the life of Me,” says YHWH, “Surely, you will wear all of them as an ornament, and bind them on like a bride. For your ruins and desolate places, and the land of your devastation, surely now will be narrow for its dweller, and those who devoured you will be far away. Again the sons of your childlessness will say in your ears: ‘The place is narrow for me! Make room for me that I may dwell!’ And you will say in your heart, ‘Who has borne these for me, and I am childless and barren, exiled and rejected? And who has raised these? Behold, I was left alone by myself; these—where are they from? Thus says the Lord YHWH: “Behold, I will lift up My hand to the nations, and to the peoples I will raise up My banner; and they will bring your sons in their bosom, and your daughters will be carried on the shoulders. And kings will be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers; facedown to the earth they will bow low to you, and they will lick up the dust of your feet. And you will know that I am YHWH; those waiting for Me will not be ashamed.” Can the prey be taken from the mighty one, or the captives of a tyrant49.24 DSS, Syriac, and Vulgate (see also verse 25); MT of the righteous be delivered? For thus says YHWH: “Even the captives of the mighty will be taken away, and the prey of a tyrant will be given escape; and your contender I will contend with, and your sons I will save. And your oppressors I will make eat their own flesh; like the sweet wine, they will get drunk on their own blood! And all flesh will know that I am YHWH, your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.” Israel’s Sin Thus says YHWH: “Where is this certificate of divorce of your⁺ mother, whom I have sent away? Or which of My creditors— whom did I sell you⁺ to him? Behold, by your⁺ iniquities you⁺ have sold yourselves, and by your⁺ transgressions your⁺ mother has been sent away. Why, did I come, and there was no man? Why did I call, and there was no one answering? Is My hand too short to redeem? Or is there not in Me power to deliver? Behold, by My rebuke I dry up the sea; I make the rivers a desert— their fish stink for lack of water and die of thirst. I clothe the heavens with blackness, and I make sackcloth their covering.” The Servant’s Obedience (Matthew 27:27–31; Mark 15:16–20; Luke 22:63–65; John 19:1–15) The Lord YHWH has given to me the tongue of the learned, knowing to help the weary with a word. He awakens me morning by morning; He awakens for me the ear to hear like the learned ones. The Lord YHWH has opened for me the ear, and I have not been rebellious; and I have not turned back. I gave My back to those striking, and My cheeks to those plucking out; I hid not my face from shame and spitting. And the Lord YHWH will give help to me; upon thus I have not been disgraced; upon thus I have set my face like flint, and I know that I will not be put to shame. The One vindicating me is near— who will contend with Me? Let us stand against one another! Who is the master of my case? Let him come near to me! Behold, the Lord YHWH gives help to me. Who is he who will condemn Me? Behold, they will all wear out like a garment, the moth will devour them. Who among you⁺ fears YHWH, listening to the voice of His Servant, who has walked in darkness, and there is no brightness unto him? Let him trust in the name of YHWH, and lean on his God. Behold, all of you⁺ kindling a fire, girding on firebrands— walk in the light of your⁺ fire, and of the firebrands you⁺ have kindled! This is for you⁺ from My hand; you⁺ will lie down in a place of torment. Salvation for Zion “Listen to Me, O pursuers of righteousness, seeking YHWH! Look to the rock from which you⁺ were hewn, and to the hole of the pit from which you⁺ were dug. Look to Abraham your⁺ father, and to Sarah who bore you⁺! For I called him alone, and I blessed him and multiplied him. For YHWH has comforted Zion; He has comforted all her ruins, and He will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert plain like the garden of YHWH. Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the voice of song. Pay attention to Me, My people; and My nation, give ear to Me! For from Me a law goes forth, and My justice I will make in an instant as a light to the nations. My righteousness is near, My salvation has gone forth; and My arms will judge the nations; the islands51.5 Or coastlands will wait for me, and on My arm they will wait in hope. Lift up your⁺ eyes to the heavens and look to the earth beneath! For the heavens will vanish like smoke, and the earth will wear out like a garment, and its dwellers will die like gnats; and My salvation will be forever, and My righteousness will not be broken. Listen to Me, O knowers of righteousness, people with My law in their heart: Do not fear the scorn of men, and by their insults do not be broken! For the moth will devour them like a garment, and the worm will devour them like wool; and My righteousness will be forever, and My salvation to all generations.” Awake, awake! Put on strength, O arm of YHWH! Awake, as in the days of old, the generations of old! Was it not You cutting apart Rahab and piercing through the dragon? Was it not You drying up the Sea, the waters of the great deep, who has made the depths of the sea as a pathway for the redeemed to pass over? And the ransomed of YHWH will return, and they will come to Zion, with singing and with gladness everlasting on their heads; gladness and joy will overtake them; sorrow and sighing will flee. “I—I am He, the One comforting you⁺. Who are you that you should be afraid of a man—he will die— and of son of man; he will be set as grass. And you forget YHWH your Maker, the One stretching out the heavens, and laying the foundations of the earth; and you are in dread continually, all the day, from the face of the rage of the one oppressing, who is prepared to destroy. And where is the rage of the oppressor? The one crouching hastens to be released, that he should not die in the pit, and that his bread should not should be lacking. And I am YHWH your God, the One disturbing the sea, so that its waves roar— YHWH of Hosts is His name! And I have put My words in your mouth, and with the shadow of My hand I have covered you, to plant51.16 Or to establish the heavens and to lay the foundations of the earth, and to say to Zion, ‘You are My people!’” God’s Fury Removed Awake, awake! Rise up, O Jerusalem, who have drunk from the hand of YHWH the cup of His anger— the goblet, the cup of reeling— you have drunk, you drained it! There is not one guiding her among all the sons she has borne; and there is no one to take her hand among all the sons she has brought up. These two things are meeting you— who will grieve for you? The devastation and the destruction, and the famine and the sword— who can comfort you?51.19 DSS, LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate; MT How can I comfort you? Your sons have fainted; they lie at the head of all the streets, like an antelope in a net, being full of the rage of YHWH, the rebuke of your God. Therefore hear now this, O afflicted and drunken one, and not with wine! Thus says your Lord YHWH, and your God contending for His people: “Behold, I have taken from your hand the cup of reeling— the goblet the cup of My fury. You will not continue to drink it anymore! And I will put it into the hand of those afflicting you, who said to you, ‘Lie down, that we may walk over you!’ And you set your back like the ground, and like the street for walking over.” Deliverance for Jerusalem Awake, awake! Put on your strength, O Zion! Put on the garments of your beauty, O Jerusalem, the holy city! For will no longer will they enter into you again— the uncircumcised and unclean. Shake yourself from the dust! Arise, sit down, O Jerusalem! Loose yourself from the bonds on your neck, O captive daughter of Zion! For thus says YHWH: “You⁺ were sold for nothing, and without money you⁺ will be redeemed.” For thus says the Lord YHWH: “My people went down to Egypt at first, to dwell there, and Assyria has oppressed them without cause. And what is for Me here, a declaration of YHWH, that My people are taken away for nothing? Those ruling over him taunt, a declaration of YHWH, and continually and all the day My name is blasphemed.52.5 DSS and Vulgate; MT wail 52.5 LXX and on account of you My name is blasphemed continually among the Gentiles; cited in Romans 2:24 Therefore My people will know My name, therefore, on that day. Indeed I am He—the One speaking; Here I am!” How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the one bringing good news, proclaiming peace—bringing news of good things, proclaiming salvation— saying to Zion: “Your God reigns!” 52.7 Cited in Romans 10:15 The voice of your watchmen—they lift up the voice, together they shall sing out; for every eye will see the returning of YHWH to Zion. Break forth, sing out together, O ruins of Jerusalem! For YHWH has comforted His people; He has redeemed Jerusalem. YHWH has bared the arm of His holiness before the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God. Turn aside, turn aside! Go out from there! An unclean thing you⁺ will not touch! Go out from her midst, purify yourselves, ones bearing the vessels of YHWH. 52.11 Cited in 2 Corinthians 6:17 But not with haste will you⁺ go forth, and in flight you⁺ will not go; for YHWH goes before you⁺, and the God of Israel gathers you⁺. The Servant Exalted (Philippians 2:5–11) Behold, My Servant will prosper;52.13 Or will act wisely he will rise up, and be lifted up and highly exalted. Just as many were dismayed at Him52.14 Syriac; Hebrew at You— His appearance was so disfigured beyond any man, and his form beyond any sons of man— so He will sprinkle many nations. Kings will shut their mouths because of him. For what had not been recounted to them, they will see, and what they had not heard, they will understand.52.15 Or startle 52.15 LXX For those who were not told will see, and those who have not heard will understand. Cited in Romans 15:21 The Suffering Servant (Acts 8:26–40; 1 Peter 2:21–25) Who has believed in our report? And the arm of YHWH—to whom has it been revealed?53.1 Cited in John 12:38 and Romans 10:16 For He grew up as a tender shoot before His face, and as a root out of a dry land. No form was unto Him, and no splendor that we should see Him, and no appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with weakness; and like one from whom they hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely, our sicknesses He has lifted, and our sorrows, He has borne them; and we considered Him stricken— struck by God and afflicted. 53.4 LXX This One bears our sins and is pained for us; cited in Matthew 8:17 and 1 Peter 2:24 And he was pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes there is healing for us. 53.5 Cited in 1 Peter 2:24 We all like sheep have gone astray, we have turned, each man to his own way; and YHWH has placed on him the iniquity of us all. 53.6 Cited in 1 Peter 2:25 He was oppressed and he was afflicted, and he did not open his mouth; like a lamb led to the slaughter, and like a sheep before the faces of her shearers is silent, so He did not open his mouth. By restraint and by judgment He was taken away, and His generation—who can recount? For He was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of My people He was stricken. 53.8 LXX In humiliation He was deprived of justice. Who can recount His descendants? For His life was removed from the earth; cited in Acts 8:32–33. A Grave Assigned (Matthew 27:57–61; Mark 15:42–47; Luke 23:50–56; John 19:38–42) And He appointed His grave with the wicked, and with a rich one in his death; although He had done no violence, and no deceit was in his mouth.53.9 Cited in 1 Peter 2:22 And YHWH has delighted to bruise Him and Make Him weak; if his soul is made a guilt offering,53.10 Or and though He makes His life a guilt offering He will see his seed; He will prolong His days; and the delight of YHWH will prosper in His hand. He will see the light of life53.11 DSS (see also LXX); MT does not include the light of life. after the anguish of His soul and be satisfied; By His knowledge My Servant, the righteous one, will bring righteousness to many, and He will bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide a portion to him with the many, and with the mighty53.12 Or great he will divide the spoil upon that he poured out his soul to the death, and he was numbered with the transgressors;53.12 Or numerous and he himself bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors. 53.12 Cited in Luke 22:37 Future Blessings for Zion “Sing out, O barren woman, who has not given birth! Break forth in song and cry aloud, one not having travailed! Because more are the sons of the desolate woman than the sons of the married woman,54.1 Cited in Galatians 4:27” says YHWH. “Enlarge the place of your tent, and let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings! Do not hold back! Lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes!54.2 Or and drive your stakes in deep For to the right and to the left you will break through, and your seed will inherit the nations, and will settle the cities left desolate. Do not be afraid, for you will not be ashamed; and you should not be disgraced, for you will not be put to shame; for you will forget the shame of your youth, and the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more. For your husband is your Maker; YHWH of Hosts is His name; and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel— He is called the God of all the earth. For like a wife forsaken and pained of spirit, YHWH has called you; and a wife of one’s youth when she is rejected,” says your God. “For a small moment I have forsaken you, and with great compassion I will gather you; in a flood of wrath I hid My face for a moment from you, and with kindness everlasting I will have compassion on you,” says YHWH your Redeemer. “For to Me this is the days of Noah,54.9 Some manuscripts For this is like the waters of Noah as when I swore to keep from passing the waters of Noah again over the earth— so have I sworn from being be angry with you and from giving rebuke to you. For the mountains may depart and the hills may be shaken, and My loving devotion will not depart from you, and the covenant of My peace will not be shaken off,” says YHWH, the One having compassion on you. “O afflicted one, tossed with tempest, not comforted! Behold, I am spreading over your stones in antimony, and I lay your foundations with sapphires.54.11 Or lapis lazuli And I will make your pinnacles of rubies, and your gates of sparkling of stones, and all of your walls of precious stones. And all your sons will be taught by YHWH, and great will be the peace of your sons. 54.13 Cited in John 6:45 In righteousness you will be established. You will be far away from oppression— for you will not fear, and from terror— for it will not come near to you. Behold, the stranger who stirs up trouble—not from Me— who stirs up trouble against you, he will fall before you. Behold, I myself have created the craftsman, blowing on the fire of the coals and bringing out the tool for his work— and also I have created the destroyer to destroy. Every weapon formed against you will not prosper, and every tongue that rises against you in judgment, you will prove wiched. This is the inheritance of the servants of YHWH, and their righteousness is from Me!—” A declaration of YHWH. Invitation to the Needy “Come, everyone who is thirsty— come to the waters; and who is without silver unto him— let them come, buy, and let them come and eat, and buy without silver and without price, wine and milk. Why do you⁺ weigh out silver for what is not bread, and your⁺ wages for what is not satisfaction? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and let your⁺ soul delight in the richness. Incline your⁺ ear and come to Me! Listen, that your⁺ soul with you⁺ may live; and I will make a covenant forever, the loving devotion promised to David. 55.3 Cited in Acts 13:34 Behold, as a witness to the nations I have placed him, a leader and commander of the peoples. Behold, you will call on a nation you do not know, and a nation you do not know will run to you, on account of YHWH your God and the Holy One of Israel, for He has glorified you.” Seek YHWH while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked one forsake his way, and the man of iniquity his thoughts; and let him return to YHWH, and He will have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. “For My thoughts are not your⁺ thoughts, and your⁺ ways are not My ways,” a declaration of YHWH. “For the heavens are higher than the earth; so My ways are higher than your⁺ ways, and My thoughts than your⁺ thoughts. For as the rain comes down—and the snow—from the heavens, and from there it does not return until it has quenched the earth and made it bring forth and sprout, that it may give seed to the one sowing and bread to the one eating, so is My word that goes forth from My mouth: It will not return to Me empty until it has done that which I delight, and it will prosper for that which I send it. For with joy you⁺ will go forth, and with peace you⁺ will be led; the mountains and the hills will break forth before you⁺ with singing, and all the trees of the field will clap the hand. In place of the thornbush the cypress,55.13 Or pine or juniper or fir will come up, and in place of the nettles the myrtle tree will come up; and it will be for YHWH as a name, as a sign forever that will not be cut off.” Salvation for Foreigners Thus says YHWH: “Keep justice and do what is right, for near is My salvation to arriving, and My righteousness to being revealed. Blessed is the man who does this, and the son of man who grabs hold of it, keeping the Sabbath from being profaned, and keeping his hand from doing any evil.” Let no son of the foreigner who has joined himself to YHWH speak, saying, “YHWH will surely separate me from His people.” And let the eunuch not say, “Behold, I am a dry tree.” For thus says YHWH: “To the eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths, and choose what I delight in, and hold fast to My covenant: And will I give to them in My house and within My walls a place and a name better than sons and daughters— an everlasting name I will give to them, that will not be cut off. And the sons of the foreigner who join themselves to YHWH to serve Him and to love the name of YHWH, to be His servants, all keeping the Sabbath from being profaned and holding firmly to My covenant, even them I will bring to My holy mountain, and I will make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on My altar; for My house will be called a house of prayer for all the nations.” 56.7 Cited in Matthew 21:13, Mark 11:17, and Luke 19:46 A declaration of the Lord YHWH, the One gathering the banished ones of Israel: “Yet more will I gather to him, besides those having been gathered to him.” Israel’s Sinful Leaders Every beast of the field, come to devour— every beast in the forest! His watchmen are blind—all of them! They do not know; all of them are mute dogs, they are not able to bark, dreaming lying down, loving to sleep. And these dogs are strong of appetite; they do not know satisfaction; and they are shepherds not knowing discernment; they all turn to their own way, each man for his own gain from his quarter. “Come, I will bring wine, and let us imbibe the strong drink; and this day will be like tomorrow— great—exceedingly abundant.” The Blessed Death of the Righteous The righteous one has perished, and no man takes it upon the heart; and men of devotion are gathered up, and no one considers that the righteous one is gathered up from the face of evil. He enters into peace; they rest in their beds, each walking in his uprightness. God Condemns Idolatry “And you⁺, draw near here, sons of a sorceress, seed of an adulterer and prostitute! Against whom are you⁺ mocking? Against whom do you⁺ make wide the mouth and stick out the tongue? Are you⁺ not children of transgression, seed of deception— those warming themselves among the Oaks, under every green tree, slaughtering the sons in the valleys, under the clefts of the cliffs? Among the smooth things of the valley is your portion; they—they are your lot! Even to them you have poured out a drink offering, having offered up a grain offering. Should I relent over these? Upon a mountain high and lifted up you have set your bed; also you went up there to offer sacrifice. And behind the door and the post you have set up your memorial; for away from me you uncovered yourself and went up; you widened your bed, and cut for yourself with them. You have loved their bed; you have gazed upon a hand! And you went to Molech57.9 Or to the king with oil and multiplied your perfumes, and you sent your envoys57.9 Or idols even to far away; you have descended even to Sheol. In the greatness of your journeying you were weary; you did not say “It is hopeless.” The life of your hand you have found; upon thus you did not weaken. And of whom were you in fear and were afraid, that you would lie? And you have not remembered Me, and you did not take it upon your heart. And I have not been silent from old, and Me you did not fear? I will declare your righteousness and your deeds, and they will not profit you. In your crying out, let your gathered ones deliver you; but the wind will carry them all away; vanity will take him. And the one taking refuge in Me will inherit the land and will possess My holy mountain.” Healing for the Repentant And He said: “Build up, build up, clear the way, take up the stumbling block from the way of My people.” For thus says the One High and Lifted up, dwelling in eternity—and Holy His name: “On high and holy I dwell, with the broken and lowly of spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly ones, and to revive the heart of the broken ones. For I will not contend forever, and I will not be angry to the end. For the spirit from before My face would turn aside, and the souls I have made. With the iniquity of his gain I was angry, and I struck him; I hid and was angry. And he went on, turning back in the way of his heart. His ways I have seen, and I will heal him, and I will lead him and restore comforts to him and to his mourners, creating the fruit of the lips. “Peace, peace to the far off one and to the near one, and I will heal him.” Says YHWH. And the wicked are like the driven sea, for it is not able to be quiet, and its waters churn up mud and mire. “There is no peace,” says my God, “For the wicked.” True Fasts and Sabbaths “Call out from the throat, do not hold back! Like a shofar lift up your voice, and declare to My people their transgression, and to the house of Jacob their sins. And day by day they seek Me, and they delight to know My ways, like a nation that does righteousness, and the justice of their God they do not forsake! They ask me for judgments of righteousness; in the nearness of God they delight: “Why have we fasted and You have not seen— we have afflicted our soul, and You have not noticed?” “Behold, on the day of your⁺ fast you⁺ find pleasure, and you⁺ oppress all your⁺ laborers! Behold, for quarreling and strife you⁺ fast, and for striking with the fist of wickedness. You⁺ shall not fast like this day to make heard your⁺ voice on high. Is it like this, the fast I choose? A day for a man to afflict his soul, for bowing down his head like a reed, and spreading out sackcloth and ashes— do you call this a fast, and a day of pleasure for YHWH? Is not this the fast I choose: To open the bonds of wickedness, to untie the cords of the yoke, and to send forth the crushed ones free, and tear off every yoke? Is it not to distribute your bread to the hungry, and the wandering the poor you should bring into the house; when you see one naked then clothe him, and do not hide yourself from your own flesh? Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will sprout quickly, and your righteousness will go before you; the glory of YHWH will gather behind you. Then you will call, and YHWH will answer; you will cry out, and He will say, ‘Here I am! If you take away the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger and the speaking of wickedness, and if you extend to the hungry your soul, and satisfy the afflicted soul, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your darkness will be like the noonday. And YHWH will guide you continually, and will satisfy your soul in scorched lands, and He will strengthen your bones; and you will be watered like a garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters never fail. And some of you will rebuild the ruins of old; you will raise up the foundations of generation and generation, and you will be called Repairer of the Breach, Restorer of the Streets of Dwelling. If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath, doing your pleasure on My holy day, and if you call the Sabbath a delight, holy of YHWH, honored, and if you honor it above doing your own ways above finding your own delight and speaking a word, then you will delight yourself in YHWH; and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the earth, and I will feed you the inheritance of Jacob your father.” For the mouth of YHWH has spoken. Sin Separates Us from God (Psalm 14:1–7; Psalm 53:1–6; Romans 3:9–20) Behold, the hand of YHWH is not shortened from saving, and his ear is not heavy from hearing. For but your⁺ iniquities that have been causing separation for you⁺ from your⁺ God, and your⁺ sins have hidden the Face from you⁺, away from hearing. For your⁺ hands are defiled with blood, and your⁺ fingers with iniquity; your⁺ lips have spoken falsehood; your⁺ tongue mutters injustice. No one calls for justice, and no one pleads his case in truth, trusting in emptiness, and speaking vanity, conceiving trouble, and birthing iniquity. They have hatched eggs of a viper, and they weave the web of a spider; the one eating of their eggs dies, and from the crushed one breaks out a viper! Their webs will not become garments, and they cannot cover themselves with their works; their works are works of iniquity, and a deed of violence is in their hands. Their feet run to evil, and they hurry to shed innocent blood. Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity— ruin and destruction are in their paths! 59.7 LXX misery The way of peace they have not known,59.8 Cited in Romans 3:15–17 and no justice is in their tracks; their paths they have made crooked for themselves— everyone treading on it has not known peace. Upon thus justice is far from us and righteousness does not reach us; we wait for the light, and behold, darkness; for brightness—in the darkness we walk. We grope like the blind along the wall, and as without eyes we grope; we stumble in the noonday as in the twilight, among the strong as the dead. We growl like bears—all of us, and we moan mournfully like doves; we wait for justice, and there is none; for salvation—it is far from us. For our transgressions are many before You, and our sins testify against us; for our transgressions are with us, and our iniquities, and we know: Breaking faith and being false with YHWH, and removing ourselves from following our God; speaking words of oppression and revolt, conceiving and musing from the heart words of deception. And justice is driven back, and righteousness stands afar off; for truth has stumbled in the plaza, and straightness is not able to enter. And the truth is missing, and the one turning away from evil makes himself plunder. And YHWH saw it, and it was evil in His eyes that there was no justice. And He saw that there was no man and He was astonished that there was no one interceding, and His own arm brought salvation for Him, and His own righteousness, it upheld him. And He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on His head; and He put on the garments of vengeance as clothing, and wrapped himself in a cloak of zeal. The Covenant of the Redeemer According to the dealings, accordingly He will repay— wrath for His adversaries, recompense for His enemies; for the islands He will repay recompense.59.18 Or coastlands And will they fear from the west the name of YHWH, and from the rising of the sun His glory. For He will come like a torrent being pressed, as the Spirit of YHWH drives it along.59.19 Or When the enemy comes like a raging flood, the Spirit of YHWH will drive him back “And He will come to Zion as One redeeming, and for those turning back from transgression in Jacob, a declaration of YHWH. 59.20 LXX to remove godlessness from Jacob; cited in Romans 11:26 “And Me, this is My covenant with them,59.21 Cited in Romans 11:27” says YHWH. “My Spirit who is upon you, and My words that I have put in your mouth, they will not depart from your mouth and from the mouth of your seed, and from the mouth of the seed of your seed, says YHWH, from now and even to forever.” Future Glory for Zion Arise, shine! For your light has come, and the glory of YHWH has risen upon you. For, behold, the darkness may cover the earth, and deep darkness the peoples; and over you YHWH will rise, and His glory will be seen over you. And nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawning. Lift up your eyes all around, and see! They all gather; they have come to you! Your sons come from afar, and your daughters are supported on the side. Then you will look and be radiant, and your heart will tremble and be enlarged, when the abundance of the sea is turned over to you, the wealth of the nations will come to you. A multitude of camels will cover you, young camels of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba will come; they will bring gold and incense, and they will proclaim the praises of YHWH. All the flock of Kedar will be gathered to you; the rams of Nebajoth will serve you; they will ascend with acceptance on My altar, and I will glorify the house of My beauty. Who are these flying like the cloud, and like the doves to their windows? Surely for Me the islands60.9 Or coastlands are waiting, and with the ships of Tarshish60.9 Or a fleet of trading ships first in line, to bring your sons from afar, with them their silver and their gold for the name of YHWH your God, and for the Holy One of Israel, because He has glorified you. And the sons of foreigners will rebuild your walls, and their kings will serve you; for in My wrath I struck you, and in My favor I have compassion on you. And your gates will be open continually— day and night they will not be shut— for bringing the wealth of the nations to you, and their kings being led in procession. For the nation and the kingdom that will not serve you will perish, and the nations will be utterly destroyed. The glory of Lebanon will come to you— the cypress,60.13 Or pine or juniper or fir elm, and boxwood together— to beautify the place of My sanctuary, and I will glorify the place of My feet. They will come to you, bowing down— the sons of those who afflicted you, and they will bow low at the soles of your feet—all those who despised you; and they will call you the City of YHWH— Zion, of the Holy One of Israel. Instead of your being forsaken and hated, with no one passing through, then I will make you a pride forever, a joy to generation and generation. And you will suck the milk of nations, and you will suck the breast of kings; and you will know that I am YHWH your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob. In place of bronze I will bring gold, and in place of iron I will bring silver, and in place of the wood bronze, and in place of stones iron; I will appoint peace as your governor, and righteousness as your rulers. Violence will not be heard any longer in your land— devastation or destruction within your borders; and you will call your walls Salvation, and your gates Praise. No longer will the sun be for you as light by day, and for brightness the moon will not shine on your night,60.19 DSS, LXX, and Targum Yonaton; MT shine on you and YHWH will be for you as a light forever, and your God as your glory.60.19 Or your beauty Your sun will not any longer go down, and your moon will not be gathered; for YHWH will be for you as a light forever, and the days of your mourning will be ended. And your people, all of them, will be righteous; they will inherit the land forever, the branch of My planting, the work of My hands, to My being glorified. The little one will become as a thousand, and the smallest as a mighty nation; I am YHWH, and in its time I will hasten it! The Year of Yahweh’s Favor (Luke 4:16–30) The Spirit of the Lord YHWH is upon me, because YHWH has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind the wounds of the broken of heart, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and to the bound the opening of their bonds;61.1 Hebrew; LXX to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind; cited in Luke 4:18 to proclaim the year of the favor of YHWH,61.2 Or to proclaim the acceptable year of YHWH; cited in Luke 4:19 and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all in mourning, to appoint to mourners in Zion, to give to them beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, a garment of praise instead of a spirit of dullness. And will be called to them oaks of righteousness, the planting of YHWH, for His being glorified. And they will rebuild the ruins of old, and they will raise up the former desolations; and they will make new the ruined cities, the desolations of generation and generation. And strangers will stand and pasture your⁺ flocks, and the sons of the foreigner will be your⁺ plowmen and your⁺ vinedressers. And you⁺ will be called the priests of YHWH, to you⁺ they will speak as servants of our God: You⁺ will eat the riches of the nations, and in their glory you⁺ will boast. Instead of your⁺ shame and dishonor, double, they will rejoice in their portion, so that in their land they will possess double; joy forever will be unto them. For I am YHWH, loving justice and hating robbery with injustice! And I will give their recompense in truth, and a covenant forever I will cut with them. And their seed will be known among the nations, and their offspring in the midst of the peoples; and all those seeing them will acknowledge them, that they are the seed blessed by YHWH. I will rejoice greatly in YHWH; my soul will be joyful in my God; for He has clothed me in the garments of salvation, and with the robe of righteousness He has covered me, like the bridegroom putting on a priestly headdress, and like the bride adorning herself with her jewels. For as the earth brings forth its sprout, and as the garden causes its sown things to sprout, so the Lord YHWH will make sprout righteousness and praise before all the nations. Zion’s Salvation and New Name For the sake of Zion I will not be silent, and for the sake of Jerusalem I will not be quiet, until her righteousness goes forth like the brightness, and her salvation burns bright like a torch. And the nations will see your righteousness, and all the kings your glory; and you will be called a new name, which the mouth of YHWH will designate. And you will be a crown of glory in the hand of YHWH, and a turban of kingship in the hand of your God. It is not said of you any longer “Azubah”,62.4 Azubah means means Forsaken and of your land it will not be said anymore “Shemamah”;62.4 Shemamah means Desolate but you will be called “Hephzibah”,62.4 Hephzibah means My delight is in her. and your land “Beulah.”62.4 Beulah means Married. For YHWH delights in you, and your land will be married. For as a young man marries a virgin, your sons will marry you; and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, your God will rejoice over you. Upon your walls, O Jerusalem, I have appointed watchmen; all the day and all the night, continually, they will not be silent. You⁺ who remember YHWH, no rest is unto you⁺; and you⁺ will not give rest to Him, until He establishes and until He makes Jerusalem the praise of the earth. YHWH has sworn by His right hand, and by the arm of His strength: “Your grain I will give no more as food for your enemies, and the sons of the foreigner will not drink your new wine, which you have toiled over it! For those who have gathered it will eat it and praise YHWH, and those harvesting will drink in My holy courts!” Pass through, Pass through the gates! Turn out the way for the people; build up, build up the highway; clear out the rocks of stone; raise a banner for the nations! Behold, YHWH has made it heard to the end of the earth: “Say to the daughter of Zion: Behold, your salvation is coming; behold, His reward is with Him and His recompense before His face!” And they will call them “The Holy People”, “The Redeemed of YHWH”; and you will be called, “Sought Out, a City not Forsaken”. God’s Vengeance on the Nations Who is this coming from Edom, in crimsoned garments from Bozrah, this One glorious in His apparel, traveling in the greatness of His strength? “It is I, proclaiming vindication,63.1 Or It is I, speaking in righteousness, mighty to save.” Why is red unto Your clothing, and Your garments like one treading in the winepress? “The winepress I have trodden by myself alone, and from the peoples no man was with me; and I trampled them in My anger, and I trampled them in My fury, and their blood is sprinkled upon My garments, and all My clothes I have stained. For the day of vengeance is in My heart, and the year of My redeeming has come! And I looked, and there was no one helping, and I was dismayed that there was no one to uphold; and My own arm brought salvation for Me, and it was My own wrath that upheld Me. And I trampled the peoples in My anger, and made them drunk in My wrath, and I poured out to the earth their blood!” God’s Mercies Recalled The loving devotion of YHWH I will recount, the praises of YHWH, according to all that YHWH has done for us, and the abundant goodness to the house of Israel that He has done for them, according to His compassion, and according to the abundance of His loving devotion. And He said, “Surely they are My people, sons not unfaithful.” And He was unto them as a Savior. In all their distress, he was afflicted, and the Angel of His Presence63.9 Or angel of His presence saved them; in His love and in His compassion He redeemed them, and He lifted them and carried them all the days of old. And they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit; and He turned Himself against them as an enemy, and He fought against them. And He remembered the days of old, of Moses and his people: Where is the One who brought them up from the sea with the shepherds of His flock? Where is the One who set within him His Holy Spirit, the One leading them by the right hand of Moses the arm of His glory, dividing the waters before their face, to make for Himself an everlasting name; the One leading them through the depths like a horse in the wilderness; they did not stumble? As the beast goes down into the valley, the Spirit of YHWH gave them rest— thus You led Your people, to make for Yourself a glorious name. A Prayer for Mercy (Jeremiah 14:19–22) Look down from the heavens and see, from the habitation of Your holiness and Your glory! Where is Your zeal and Your strength, the groaning of Your bowels and Your compassion toward me— are they restrained? For You are our Father, though Abraham does not know us and Israel does not acknowledge us, You, O YHWH, are our Father, Our Redeemer from Everlasting is Your name. Why do You let us stray O YHWH, from Your ways, and harden our hearts from fearing You? Return Your servants for the sake of the tribes of Your inheritance. For a short time Your holy people possessed it; our adversaries have trampled Your sanctuary. From of old we have been You had not ruled over them, those not called by Your name. A Prayer for God’s Power If only You would rend the heavens and come down; at Your presence the mountains would shake, like the kindling of brushwood by the fire— the fire boils the waters— to make known Your name to Your adversaries, that before Your face the nations will tremble, at Your doing fearsome things we could not have expected! You come down, before Your face the mountains shake. And from age past they have not heard, and they have not given ear; no eye has seen any God besides You, who acts for the one waiting for Him. 64.4 Cited in 1 Corinthians 2:9 You meet the one rejoicing and doing righteousness; in Your ways they remember You. Behold, You were angry, and we had sinned; in them is continuance, then will we be saved? And all of us have become like an unclean one, all our righteous acts are as a filthy rag;64.6 Or like a stained menstrual garment and all of us wither like the leaf, and our iniquities carry us away like the wind. And no one is calling on Your name, stirring himself up to take hold of You; for You have hidden Your face from us, and delivered us into the hand64.7 LXX, Syriac, and Targum Yonaton; MT let us melt in the hand of our iniquities. And now, O YHWH You are our Father; we are the clay, and You the One forming us, and we are all the work of Your hand. Do not be angry, O YHWH, beyond measure, and do not remember our iniquity forever! Behold, please, look; we are all Your people! Your holy Cities have become a wilderness; Zion has become a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation. And our holy and our beautiful house, where our fathers praised You, has been burned with fire; and all our desirable things are laid waste. At these will You restrain Yourself, O YHWH? Will You keep silent, and afflict us beyond measure? Judgments and Promises (Romans 10:1–21) “I was sought by those who did not ask; I was found by those who did not seek Me.65.1 Cited in Romans 10:20 I said, Behold me! Behold me!’ To a nation not calling on My Name. I have spread out My hands all the day to a rebellious people, those walking a way not good, after their thoughts; 65.2 LXX to a disobedient and obstinate people; cited in Romans 10:21 the people provoking Me to my face continually, offering sacrifices in the gardens and burning incense on the bricks, sitting among the graves and spending nights in lookouts, those eating the flesh of swine and the broth of abominations in their vessels; those saying, ‘Keep yourself away; do not come near to me, for I am set apart from you’— these are smoke in My nostrils, a fire burning all the day! Behold, it is written before My face, and I will not keep silent, but I will repay, and I will pay it back into their bosom, your⁺ iniquities, and the iniquities of your⁺ fathers together.” YHWH has said. “Because they have burned incense on the mountains, and on the hills they have scorned Me, so I will measure out their wages first into their bosom.” Thus says YHWH: “As when the new wine is found in the cluster, and one says, ‘You should not destroy it, for blessing is’ in it, so will I do for the sake of My servants, so as not to destroy them all. And I will bring forth from Jacob a seed, and from Judah one inheriting My mountains; and My chosen ones will inherit it,65.9 Or and heirs to My mountains out of Judah; My elect will possess them and My servants will dwell there. And Sharon will become as a habitation for the flock, and the Valley of Achor as a resting place for herds, for my people who have sought Me. And you⁺ forsaking YHWH, those forgetful of My holy mountain, of those arranging a table for Gad,65.11 Gad is the Babylonian god of fortune and those filling mixed wine for Meni65.11 Meni is the Babylonian god of Destiny— and I will appoint you⁺ for the sword, and you⁺ will all bow down to the slaughter, because I called, and you⁺ did not answer; I spoke, and you⁺ did not hear; and you⁺ did evil in My eyes, and you⁺ chose that in which I do not take delight.” Therefore thus says the Lord YHWH: “Behold, My servants will eat, and you⁺ will go hungry. Behold, My servants will drink, and you⁺ will go thirsty. Behold, My servants will be glad, and you⁺ will be put to shame. Behold, My servants will sing out from goodness of heart, and you⁺ will cry out from pain of heart, and from a breaking of spirit you⁺ will wail. And you⁺ will leave behind your⁺ name as a curse for My chosen ones— and the Lord YHWH will slay you!— And to His servants He will call out another name, that one blessing himself in the land will bless himself by the God of truth, and the one swearing in the land will swear by the God of truth; for the former troubles will be forgotten, for they will be hidden from My eyes. A New Heaven and a New Earth (Revelation 21:1–8) For behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth;65.17 LXX a new heaven and a new earth; see also Isaiah 66:22 and Revelation 21:1. and the former things will not be remembered, and they will not come up upon the heart. But rather be glad and rejoice forever and ever in that which I am creating! For behold, I am creating Jerusalem as rejoicing and her people as joy. And I will rejoice in Jerusalem and take delight in My people; and will not be heard in her any longer the voice of weeping and the voice of crying out. There will not be from there anymore an infant of days, or an elder who does not fulfill his days. For the youth will die a son of a hundred years, a son, and the one falling short of a hundred years old will be accursed. And they build houses and dwell, and they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit. And they will not build, and another dwell there; they will not plant, and another eat; for like the days of a tree are the days of My people, and the work of their hands my chosen ones will wear out. They will not toil in vain, and they will not bring forth for disaster; for they are a seed blessed of YHWH— they and their offspring with them. And it will come to pass that before they call, then I will answer; and while they are still speaking, then I will hear. The wolf and the lamb will pasture as one, and the lion like the ox will eat straw— and the serpent,65.25 Hebrew nachash; translated in most cases as snake dust is its food! They will not cause harm and they will not destroy in all My holy mountain,” says YHWH. Heaven Is My Throne Thus says YHWH: “The heavens are My throne, and the earth is the stool for My feet! Where is this house for Me that you⁺ will build, and where is this place of My rest? And all these things My own hand has made,66.2 Cited in Acts 7:49–50 and all these things have come to be!” a declaration of YHWH. “And to this one I will look: To the poor and stricken one in spirit, and who trembles at My word. The one slaughtering an ox strikes down a man; the one sacrificing a lamb breaks the neck a dog; the one offering a grain offering offers the blood of a pig; the one burning incense blesses an idol. As they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delights in their abominations, I also will choose their punishment, and their fears I will bring upon them, because I called and no one answered; I spoke and no one listened; and they did the evil in My eyes, and they chose that in which I did not delight.” “Hear the word of YHWH, you who tremble at His word! Your⁺ brothers who hate you⁺ and cast you⁺ out for the sake of My name have said, ‘Let YHWH be glorified, that we might look on your⁺ joy!’ And they will be put to shame.” The voice of uproar from the city, a voice from the temple— it is the voice of YHWH, repaying recompence to His enemies! Rejoice with Jerusalem “Before she was writhing, she gave birth; before pain came to her, then she delivered a male. Who has heard such as this? Who has seen these things? Can a land be born in one day? Can a nation be born in one moment? For she began writhing— as soon as Zion gave birth to her sons. Will I break open and not deliver?” Says YHWH: “Or will I, cause to bring forth, and shut up?” Says your God. Be glad with Jerusalem, and rejoice in her all those loving her! Rejoice with her for joy, all those mourning over her, so that you⁺ may nurse and be satisfied from the breast of her consolation, that you⁺ may drink deeply and delight yourself from the abundance of her glory. For thus says YHWH: “Behold I am stretching out to her peace like a river, and flowing like a stream the glory of the nations; and you⁺ will nurse, at her side you⁺ will be carried, and on her knees you⁺ will be dandled. As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you⁺, and in Jerusalem you⁺ will find comfort.” And you⁺ will see, and your⁺ heart will rejoice, and your⁺ bones like the grass will sprout; and the hand of YHWH will be known to His servants, and His indignation to His enemies. Final Judgments against the Wicked For behold, YHWH will come with fire, and like a whirlwind with His chariots, to render the heat of His nose, and His rebuke with flames of fire. For by the fire and by His sword, YHWH enters into judgment with all flesh, and those slain by YHWH will be many. “The ones consecrating and purifying themselves to the gardens, after one in the center, eating the flesh of swine, and the abomination, and the rodent, together they will come to an end,” a declaration of YHWH. “And I—their deeds and their thoughts—I am coming to gather all the nations and tongues, and they will come and see My glory. And I will set among them a sign, and I will send survivors from among them to the nations—to Tarshish, and Pul, and Lud, who draw the bow, and Tubal, and Javan, to the islands66.19 Or coastlands far away, who have not heard My name and have not seen My glory; and they will declare My glory among the nations. And they will bring all your⁺ brothers from all nations as an offering to YHWH—on horses, and in chariots, and in covered wagons, and on mules, and on camels—to My holy mountain of Jerusalem,” says YHWH, “As the sons of Israel bring an offering in a pure vessel into the house of YHWH.” “And also from them I will take priests and Levites,” says YHWH. “For as the new heavens and the new earth that I am making will stand before Me, a declaration of YHWH, “So will stand your⁺ seed and your⁺ name. 66.22 LXX the new heaven and the new earth; see also Isaiah 65:17 and Revelation 21:1. And it will come to pass, from New Moon to New Moon, and from Sabbath to Sabbath, that all flesh will come to worship before Me,” says YHWH. “And they will go forth, and they will see the corpses of the men having rebelled against Me, for their worm does not die, and their fire is not quenched; and they will be an abhorrence to all flesh.” 66.24 Cited in Mark 9:48