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Isaiah 13-18
English Standard Version
Isaiah 13-18
English Standard Version
The Judgment of Babylon
13 The oracle concerning (A)Babylon which (B)Isaiah the son of Amoz saw.
2 On a bare hill (C)raise a signal;
cry aloud to them;
wave the hand for (D)them to enter
the gates of the nobles.
3 I myself have commanded my consecrated ones,
and have summoned my mighty men to execute my anger,
my proudly exulting ones.[a]
4 The sound (E)of a tumult is on the mountains
as of a great multitude!
The sound of an uproar of kingdoms,
of nations gathering together!
(F)The Lord of hosts is mustering
a host for battle.
5 (G)They come from a distant land,
from the end of the heavens,
the Lord and the weapons of his indignation,
to destroy the whole land.[b]
6 (H)Wail, for (I)the day of the Lord is near;
as destruction from the Almighty[c] it will come!
7 Therefore all hands will be feeble,
and every human heart (J)will melt.
8 They will be dismayed:
(K)pangs and agony will seize them;
(L)they will be in anguish like a woman in labor.
They will look aghast at one another;
their faces will be aflame.
9 Behold, (M)the day of the Lord comes,
cruel, with wrath and fierce anger,
to make the land a desolation
and (N)to destroy its sinners from it.
10 (O)For the stars of the heavens and their constellations
will not give their light;
(P)the sun will be dark at its rising,
and the moon will not shed its light.
11 I will punish (Q)the world for its evil,
and the wicked for their iniquity;
I will (R)put an end to the pomp of the arrogant,
(S)and lay low the pompous pride of the ruthless.
12 I will make (T)people more rare than fine gold,
and mankind than the (U)gold of Ophir.
13 Therefore (V)I will make the heavens tremble,
and the earth will be shaken out of its place,
at the wrath of the Lord of hosts
in the day of his fierce anger.
14 And like a hunted gazelle,
or like sheep with none to gather them,
(W)each will turn to his own people,
and each will flee to his own land.
15 Whoever is found will be thrust through,
and whoever is caught will fall by the sword.
16 (X)Their infants will be dashed in pieces
before their eyes;
their houses will be plundered
and their wives ravished.
17 Behold, (Y)I am stirring up the Medes against them,
who have no regard for silver
and do not delight in gold.
18 (Z)Their bows will slaughter[d] the young men;
they will have no mercy on the fruit of the womb;
their eyes will not pity children.
19 And Babylon, (AA)the glory of kingdoms,
the splendor and pomp of the Chaldeans,
will be (AB)like Sodom and Gomorrah
when God overthrew them.
20 (AC)It will never be inhabited
or lived in for all generations;
no (AD)Arab will pitch his tent there;
no (AE)shepherds will make their flocks lie down there.
21 But (AF)wild animals will lie down there,
and their houses will be full of howling creatures;
there (AG)ostriches[e] will dwell,
and there wild goats will dance.
22 Hyenas[f] will cry in its towers,
and (AH)jackals in (AI)the pleasant palaces;
its time is close at hand
and its days will not be prolonged.
The Restoration of Jacob
14 (AJ)For the Lord will have compassion on Jacob and will again choose Israel, and (AK)will set them in their own land, and (AL)sojourners will join them and will attach themselves to the house of Jacob. 2 And (AM)the peoples will take them and bring them to their place, and the house of Israel will possess them in the Lord's land (AN)as male and female slaves.[g] (AO)They will take captive those who were their captors, (AP)and rule over those who oppressed them.
Israel's Remnant Taunts Babylon
3 When the Lord has given you rest from your pain and turmoil and the hard service with which you were made to serve, 4 you will take up this (AQ)taunt against the king of Babylon:
“How the oppressor has ceased,
(AR)the insolent fury[h] ceased!
5 The Lord has broken the (AS)staff of the wicked,
the (AT)scepter of rulers,
6 (AU)that struck the peoples in wrath
with unceasing blows,
that ruled the nations in anger
with unrelenting persecution.
7 The whole earth is at rest and quiet;
(AV)they break forth into singing.
8 (AW)(AX)The cypresses rejoice at you,
(AY)the cedars of Lebanon, saying,
‘Since you were laid low,
no woodcutter comes up against us.’
9 Sheol beneath is stirred up
to meet you when you come;
it rouses the shades to greet you,
all who were leaders of the earth;
it raises from their thrones
all who were kings of the nations.
10 (AZ)All of them will answer
and say to you:
‘You too have become as weak as we!
You have become like us!’
11 Your pomp is brought down to Sheol,
the sound of your harps;
maggots are laid as a bed beneath you,
and worms are your covers.
12 “How (BA)you are fallen from heaven,
O Day Star, (BB)son of Dawn!
How you are cut down to the ground,
you who laid the nations low!
13 You said in your heart,
(BC)‘I will ascend to heaven;
above the stars of God
(BD)I will set my throne on high;
I will sit on the mount of assembly
in the far reaches of the north;[i]
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High.’
15 (BE)But you are brought down to Sheol,
to the far reaches of the pit.
16 Those who see you will stare at you
and ponder over you:
‘Is this (BF)the man who made the earth tremble,
who shook kingdoms,
17 who made the world like a desert
and overthrew its cities,
(BG)who did not let his prisoners go home?’
18 All the kings of the nations lie in glory,
each in his own tomb;[j]
19 but you are cast out, away from your grave,
like a loathed branch,
(BH)clothed with the slain, those pierced by the sword,
who go down to the stones of the pit,
like a dead body trampled underfoot.
20 You will not be joined with them in burial,
because you have destroyed your land,
you have slain your people.
“May (BI)the offspring of evildoers
nevermore be named!
21 Prepare slaughter for his sons
(BJ)because of the guilt of their fathers,
lest they rise and possess the earth,
and fill the face of the world with cities.”
22 “I will rise up against them,” declares the Lord of hosts, “and will cut off from Babylon name and (BK)remnant, (BL)descendants and posterity,” declares the Lord. 23 “And I will make it a possession of the (BM)hedgehog,[k] and pools of water, and I will sweep it with the broom of destruction,” declares the Lord of hosts.
An Oracle Concerning Assyria
24 The Lord of hosts has sworn:
(BN)“As I have planned,
so shall it be,
and as I have purposed,
so shall it stand,
25 that (BO)I will break the Assyrian in my land,
and on my mountains trample him underfoot;
and (BP)his yoke shall depart from them,
and (BQ)his burden from their shoulder.”
26 This is the purpose that is purposed
concerning the whole earth,
and this is (BR)the hand that is stretched out
over all the nations.
27 (BS)For the Lord of hosts has purposed,
and who will annul it?
(BT)His hand is stretched out,
and who will turn it back?
An Oracle Concerning Philistia
28 In the year that (BU)King Ahaz died came this (BV)oracle:
29 Rejoice not, (BW)O Philistia, all of you,
that (BX)the rod that struck you is broken,
for from the serpent's root will come forth an adder,
and its fruit will be a (BY)flying fiery serpent.
30 And the firstborn of (BZ)the poor will graze,
and (CA)the needy lie down in safety;
but I will kill your root with famine,
and your remnant it will slay.
31 (CB)Wail, O (CC)gate; cry out, O city;
melt in fear, (CD)O Philistia, all of you!
(CE)For smoke comes out of the north,
and there is no straggler in his ranks.
32 What will one answer the messengers of the nation?
(CF)“The Lord has founded Zion,
and in her the afflicted of his people find refuge.”
An Oracle Concerning Moab
15 An (CG)oracle concerning (CH)Moab.
Because (CI)Ar of Moab is laid waste in a night,
Moab is undone;
because (CJ)Kir of Moab is laid waste in a night,
Moab is undone.
2 He has gone up to the temple,[l] and to (CK)Dibon,
to the high places[m] to weep;
over (CL)Nebo and over (CM)Medeba
Moab (CN)wails.
On every head is (CO)baldness;
every beard is shorn;
3 in the streets they wear sackcloth;
on the housetops and in the squares
everyone wails and melts in tears.
4 (CP)Heshbon and (CQ)Elealeh cry out;
their voice is heard as far as (CR)Jahaz;
therefore the armed men of Moab cry aloud;
his soul trembles.
5 My heart cries out for Moab;
her fugitives flee to Zoar,
to (CS)Eglath-shelishiyah.
For at the (CT)ascent of Luhith
they go up weeping;
on the road to (CU)Horonaim
they raise a cry of destruction;
6 the waters of (CV)Nimrim
are a desolation;
the grass is withered, the vegetation fails,
the greenery is no more.
7 (CW)Therefore the abundance they have gained
and what they have laid up
they carry away
over the Brook of the Willows.
8 For a cry has gone
around the land of Moab;
her wailing reaches to Eglaim;
her wailing reaches to Beer-elim.
9 For the waters of (CX)Dibon[n] are full of blood;
for I will bring upon Dibon even more,
(CY)a lion for those of Moab who escape,
for the remnant of the land.
16 (CZ)Send the lamb to the ruler of the land,
from (DA)Sela, by way of the desert,
to the mount of the daughter of Zion.
2 Like fleeing birds,
like a scattered nest,
so are the daughters of Moab
at (DB)the fords of the Arnon.
3 “Give counsel;
grant justice;
(DC)make your shade like night
at the height of noon;
shelter the outcasts;
do not reveal the fugitive;
4 let (DD)the outcasts of Moab
sojourn among you;
be a shelter to them[o]
from the destroyer.
When the oppressor is no more,
and destruction has ceased,
and he who tramples underfoot has vanished from the land,
5 (DE)then a throne will be established in steadfast love,
and on it will sit in faithfulness
in the tent of David
one who judges and seeks justice
and is swift to do righteousness.”
6 (DF)We have heard of the pride of Moab—
how proud he is!—
(DG)of his arrogance, his pride, and his insolence;
in his idle boasting he is not right.
7 Therefore let Moab wail for Moab,
(DH)let everyone wail.
Mourn, utterly stricken,
for the (DI)raisin cakes of (DJ)Kir-hareseth.
8 For the fields of Heshbon languish,
and (DK)the vine of Sibmah;
the lords of the nations
have struck down its branches,
which reached to Jazer
and strayed to the desert;
its shoots spread abroad
and passed over the sea.
9 Therefore (DL)I weep with (DM)the weeping of Jazer
for the vine of Sibmah;
I drench you with my tears,
O Heshbon and Elealeh;
for over (DN)your summer fruit and your harvest
the shout has ceased.
10 (DO)And joy and gladness are taken away from (DP)the fruitful field,
and in the vineyards no (DQ)songs are sung,
no cheers are raised;
no (DR)treader treads out wine (DS)in the presses;
I have put an end to the shouting.
11 Therefore (DT)my inner parts moan like a lyre for Moab,
and my inmost self for Kir-hareseth.
12 And when Moab presents himself, when (DU)he wearies himself on (DV)the high place, when he comes to his sanctuary to pray, he will not prevail.
13 This is the word that the Lord spoke concerning Moab (DW)in the past. 14 But now the Lord has spoken, saying, “In three years, (DX)like the years of a hired worker, the glory of Moab will be brought into contempt, in spite of all his great multitude, and those who remain will be (DY)very few and feeble.”
An Oracle Concerning Damascus
17 An (DZ)oracle concerning (EA)Damascus.
Behold, Damascus will cease to be a city
and will become a heap of ruins.
2 The cities of (EB)Aroer are deserted;
they will be for flocks,
which will lie down, and (EC)none will make them afraid.
3 The fortress will disappear from (ED)Ephraim,
and the kingdom from (EE)Damascus;
and the remnant of Syria will be
like (EF)the glory of the children of Israel,
declares the Lord of hosts.
4 And in that day (EG)the glory of Jacob will be brought low,
and (EH)the fat of his flesh will grow lean.
5 And it shall be (EI)as when the reaper gathers standing grain
and his arm harvests the ears,
and as when one gleans the ears of grain
in (EJ)the Valley of Rephaim.
6 (EK)Gleanings will be left in it,
as when an olive tree is beaten—
two or three berries
in the top of the highest bough,
four or five
on the branches of a fruit tree,
declares the Lord God of Israel.
7 (EL)In that day man will look to his Maker, and his eyes will look on the Holy One of Israel. 8 (EM)He will not look to the altars, the work of his hands, and he will not look on what his own fingers have made, either the (EN)Asherim or the altars of incense.
9 (EO)In that day their strong cities will be like the deserted places of the wooded heights and the hilltops, which they deserted because of the children of Israel, and there will be desolation.
10 For (EP)you have forgotten the God of your salvation
and have not remembered the (EQ)Rock of your refuge;
therefore, though you plant pleasant plants
and sow the vine-branch of a stranger,
11 though you make them grow[p] on the day that you plant them,
and make them blossom in the morning that you sow,
yet the harvest will flee away[q]
in a day of grief and incurable pain.
12 Ah, (ER)the thunder of many peoples;
they thunder like the thundering of the sea!
Ah, the roar of nations;
they roar like the roaring of mighty waters!
13 (ES)The nations roar like the roaring of many waters,
(ET)but he will rebuke them, and they will flee far away,
chased (EU)like chaff on the mountains before the wind
and (EV)whirling dust before the storm.
14 (EW)At evening time, behold, terror!
Before morning, they are no more!
This is the portion of those who loot us,
and the lot of those who plunder us.
An Oracle Concerning Cush
18 Ah, land of (EX)whirring wings
that is beyond the rivers of (EY)Cush,[r]
2 which (EZ)sends ambassadors by the sea,
in vessels of papyrus on the waters!
Go, you swift messengers,
to a nation (FA)tall and smooth,
to a people feared near and far,
a nation (FB)mighty and conquering,
whose land the rivers divide.
3 All you inhabitants of the world,
you who dwell on the earth,
when (FC)a signal is raised on the mountains, look!
When a trumpet is blown, hear!
4 For thus the Lord said to me:
“I will quietly look (FD)from my dwelling
like clear heat in sunshine,
like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.”
5 (FE)For before the harvest, when the blossom is over,
and the flower becomes a ripening grape,
he cuts off the shoots with pruning hooks,
and the spreading branches he lops off and clears away.
6 (FF)They shall all of them be left
to the birds of prey of the mountains
and to the beasts of the earth.
And the birds of prey will summer on them,
and all the beasts of the earth will winter on them.
7 (FG)At that time tribute will be brought to the Lord of hosts
from a people (FH)tall and smooth,
from a people feared near and far,
a nation mighty and conquering,
whose land the rivers divide,
to (FI)Mount Zion, the place of the (FJ)name of the Lord of hosts.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 13:3 Or those who exult in my majesty
- Isaiah 13:5 Or earth; also verse 9
- Isaiah 13:6 The Hebrew words for destruction and almighty sound alike
- Isaiah 13:18 Hebrew dash in pieces
- Isaiah 13:21 Or owls
- Isaiah 13:22 Or foxes
- Isaiah 14:2 Or servants
- Isaiah 14:4 Dead Sea Scroll (compare Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate); the meaning of the word in the Masoretic Text is uncertain
- Isaiah 14:13 Or in the remote parts of Zaphon
- Isaiah 14:18 Hebrew house
- Isaiah 14:23 Possibly porcupine, or owl
- Isaiah 15:2 Hebrew the house
- Isaiah 15:2 Or temple, even Dibon to the high places
- Isaiah 15:9 Dead Sea Scroll, Vulgate (compare Syriac); Masoretic Text Dimon; twice in this verse
- Isaiah 16:4 Some Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Syriac; Masoretic Text let my outcasts sojourn among you; as for Moab, be a shelter to them
- Isaiah 17:11 Or though you carefully fence them
- Isaiah 17:11 Or will be a heap
- Isaiah 18:1 Probably Nubia
Isaiah 13-18
New International Version
Isaiah 13-18
New International Version
A Prophecy Against Babylon
13 A prophecy(A) against Babylon(B) that Isaiah son of Amoz(C) saw:(D)
2 Raise a banner(E) on a bare hilltop,
shout to them;
beckon to them
to enter the gates(F) of the nobles.
3 I have commanded those I prepared for battle;
I have summoned my warriors(G) to carry out my wrath(H)—
those who rejoice(I) in my triumph.
4 Listen, a noise on the mountains,
like that of a great multitude!(J)
Listen, an uproar(K) among the kingdoms,
like nations massing together!
The Lord Almighty(L) is mustering(M)
an army for war.
5 They come from faraway lands,
from the ends of the heavens(N)—
the Lord and the weapons(O) of his wrath(P)—
to destroy(Q) the whole country.
6 Wail,(R) for the day(S) of the Lord is near;
it will come like destruction(T) from the Almighty.[a](U)
7 Because of this, all hands will go limp,(V)
every heart will melt with fear.(W)
8 Terror(X) will seize them,
pain and anguish will grip(Y) them;
they will writhe like a woman in labor.(Z)
They will look aghast at each other,
their faces aflame.(AA)
9 See, the day(AB) of the Lord is coming
—a cruel(AC) day, with wrath(AD) and fierce anger(AE)—
to make the land desolate
and destroy the sinners within it.
10 The stars of heaven and their constellations
will not show their light.(AF)
The rising sun(AG) will be darkened(AH)
and the moon will not give its light.(AI)
11 I will punish(AJ) the world for its evil,
the wicked(AK) for their sins.
I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty(AL)
and will humble(AM) the pride of the ruthless.(AN)
12 I will make people(AO) scarcer than pure gold,
more rare than the gold of Ophir.(AP)
13 Therefore I will make the heavens tremble;(AQ)
and the earth will shake(AR) from its place
at the wrath(AS) of the Lord Almighty,
in the day of his burning anger.(AT)
14 Like a hunted(AU) gazelle,
like sheep without a shepherd,(AV)
they will all return to their own people,
they will flee(AW) to their native land.(AX)
15 Whoever is captured will be thrust through;
all who are caught will fall(AY) by the sword.(AZ)
16 Their infants(BA) will be dashed to pieces before their eyes;
their houses will be looted and their wives violated.(BB)
17 See, I will stir up(BC) against them the Medes,(BD)
who do not care for silver
and have no delight in gold.(BE)
18 Their bows(BF) will strike down the young men;(BG)
they will have no mercy(BH) on infants,
nor will they look with compassion on children.(BI)
19 Babylon,(BJ) the jewel of kingdoms,(BK)
the pride and glory(BL) of the Babylonians,[b]
will be overthrown(BM) by God
like Sodom and Gomorrah.(BN)
20 She will never be inhabited(BO)
or lived in through all generations;
there no nomads(BP) will pitch their tents,
there no shepherds will rest their flocks.
21 But desert creatures(BQ) will lie there,
jackals(BR) will fill her houses;
there the owls(BS) will dwell,
and there the wild goats(BT) will leap about.
22 Hyenas(BU) will inhabit her strongholds,(BV)
jackals(BW) her luxurious palaces.
Her time is at hand,(BX)
and her days will not be prolonged.(BY)
14 The Lord will have compassion(BZ) on Jacob;
once again he will choose(CA) Israel
and will settle them in their own land.(CB)
Foreigners(CC) will join them
and unite with the descendants of Jacob.
2 Nations will take them
and bring(CD) them to their own place.
And Israel will take possession of the nations(CE)
and make them male and female servants in the Lord’s land.
They will make captives(CF) of their captors
and rule over their oppressors.(CG)
3 On the day the Lord gives you relief(CH) from your suffering and turmoil(CI) and from the harsh labor forced on you,(CJ) 4 you will take up this taunt(CK) against the king of Babylon:(CL)
How the oppressor(CM) has come to an end!
How his fury[c] has ended!
5 The Lord has broken the rod(CN) of the wicked,(CO)
the scepter(CP) of the rulers,
6 which in anger struck down peoples(CQ)
with unceasing blows,
and in fury subdued(CR) nations
with relentless aggression.(CS)
7 All the lands are at rest and at peace;(CT)
they break into singing.(CU)
8 Even the junipers(CV) and the cedars of Lebanon
gloat over you and say,
“Now that you have been laid low,
no one comes to cut us down.”(CW)
9 The realm of the dead(CX) below is all astir
to meet you at your coming;
it rouses the spirits of the departed(CY) to greet you—
all those who were leaders(CZ) in the world;
it makes them rise from their thrones—
all those who were kings over the nations.(DA)
10 They will all respond,
they will say to you,
“You also have become weak, as we are;
you have become like us.”(DB)
11 All your pomp has been brought down to the grave,(DC)
along with the noise of your harps;(DD)
maggots are spread out beneath you
and worms(DE) cover you.(DF)
12 How you have fallen(DG) from heaven,
morning star,(DH) son of the dawn!
You have been cast down to the earth,
you who once laid low the nations!(DI)
13 You said in your heart,
“I will ascend(DJ) to the heavens;
I will raise my throne(DK)
above the stars of God;
I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly,(DL)
on the utmost heights(DM) of Mount Zaphon.[d]
14 I will ascend above the tops of the clouds;(DN)
I will make myself like the Most High.”(DO)
15 But you are brought down(DP) to the realm of the dead,(DQ)
to the depths(DR) of the pit.(DS)
16 Those who see you stare at you,
they ponder your fate:(DT)
“Is this the man who shook(DU) the earth
and made kingdoms tremble,
17 the man who made the world a wilderness,(DV)
who overthrew(DW) its cities
and would not let his captives go home?”(DX)
18 All the kings of the nations lie in state,
each in his own tomb.(DY)
19 But you are cast out(DZ) of your tomb
like a rejected branch;
you are covered with the slain,(EA)
with those pierced by the sword,(EB)
those who descend to the stones of the pit.(EC)
Like a corpse trampled underfoot,
20 you will not join them in burial,(ED)
for you have destroyed your land
and killed your people.
Let the offspring(EE) of the wicked(EF)
never be mentioned(EG) again.
21 Prepare a place to slaughter his children(EH)
for the sins of their ancestors;(EI)
they are not to rise to inherit the land
and cover the earth with their cities.
22 “I will rise up(EJ) against them,”
declares the Lord Almighty.
“I will wipe out Babylon’s name(EK) and survivors,
her offspring and descendants,(EL)”
declares the Lord.
23 “I will turn her into a place for owls(EM)
and into swampland;
I will sweep her with the broom of destruction,(EN)”
declares the Lord Almighty.(EO)
24 The Lord Almighty has sworn,(EP)
“Surely, as I have planned,(EQ) so it will be,
and as I have purposed, so it will happen.(ER)
25 I will crush the Assyrian(ES) in my land;
on my mountains I will trample him down.
His yoke(ET) will be taken from my people,
and his burden removed from their shoulders.(EU)”
26 This is the plan(EV) determined for the whole world;
this is the hand(EW) stretched out over all nations.
27 For the Lord Almighty has purposed,(EX) and who can thwart him?
His hand(EY) is stretched out, and who can turn it back?(EZ)
A Prophecy Against the Philistines
28 This prophecy(FA) came in the year(FB) King Ahaz(FC) died:
29 Do not rejoice, all you Philistines,(FD)
that the rod that struck you is broken;
from the root of that snake will spring up a viper,(FE)
its fruit will be a darting, venomous serpent.(FF)
30 The poorest of the poor will find pasture,
and the needy(FG) will lie down in safety.(FH)
But your root I will destroy by famine;(FI)
it will slay(FJ) your survivors.(FK)
31 Wail,(FL) you gate!(FM) Howl, you city!
Melt away, all you Philistines!(FN)
A cloud of smoke comes from the north,(FO)
and there is not a straggler in its ranks.(FP)
32 What answer shall be given
to the envoys(FQ) of that nation?
“The Lord has established Zion,(FR)
and in her his afflicted people will find refuge.(FS)”
A Prophecy Against Moab(FT)
15 A prophecy(FU) against Moab:(FV)
Ar(FW) in Moab is ruined,(FX)
destroyed in a night!
Kir(FY) in Moab is ruined,
destroyed in a night!
2 Dibon(FZ) goes up to its temple,
to its high places(GA) to weep;
Moab wails(GB) over Nebo(GC) and Medeba.
Every head is shaved(GD)
and every beard cut off.(GE)
3 In the streets they wear sackcloth;(GF)
on the roofs(GG) and in the public squares(GH)
they all wail,(GI)
prostrate with weeping.(GJ)
4 Heshbon(GK) and Elealeh(GL) cry out,
their voices are heard all the way to Jahaz.(GM)
Therefore the armed men of Moab cry out,
and their hearts are faint.
5 My heart cries out(GN) over Moab;(GO)
her fugitives(GP) flee as far as Zoar,(GQ)
as far as Eglath Shelishiyah.
They go up the hill to Luhith,
weeping as they go;
on the road to Horonaim(GR)
they lament their destruction.(GS)
6 The waters of Nimrim are dried up(GT)
and the grass is withered;(GU)
the vegetation is gone(GV)
and nothing green is left.(GW)
7 So the wealth they have acquired(GX) and stored up
they carry away over the Ravine of the Poplars.
8 Their outcry echoes along the border of Moab;
their wailing reaches as far as Eglaim,
their lamentation as far as Beer(GY) Elim.
9 The waters of Dimon[e] are full of blood,
but I will bring still more upon Dimon[f]—
a lion(GZ) upon the fugitives of Moab(HA)
and upon those who remain in the land.
16 Send lambs(HB) as tribute(HC)
to the ruler of the land,
from Sela,(HD) across the desert,
to the mount of Daughter Zion.(HE)
2 Like fluttering birds
pushed from the nest,(HF)
so are the women of Moab(HG)
at the fords(HH) of the Arnon.(HI)
3 “Make up your mind,” Moab says.
“Render a decision.
Make your shadow like night—
at high noon.
Hide the fugitives,(HJ)
do not betray the refugees.
4 Let the Moabite fugitives stay with you;
be their shelter(HK) from the destroyer.”
The oppressor(HL) will come to an end,
and destruction will cease;(HM)
the aggressor will vanish from the land.
5 In love a throne(HN) will be established;(HO)
in faithfulness a man will sit on it—
one from the house[g] of David(HP)—
one who in judging seeks justice(HQ)
and speeds the cause of righteousness.
6 We have heard of Moab’s(HR) pride(HS)—
how great is her arrogance!—
of her conceit, her pride and her insolence;
but her boasts are empty.
7 Therefore the Moabites wail,(HT)
they wail together for Moab.
Lament and grieve
for the raisin cakes(HU) of Kir Hareseth.(HV)
8 The fields of Heshbon(HW) wither,(HX)
the vines of Sibmah(HY) also.
The rulers of the nations
have trampled down the choicest vines,(HZ)
which once reached Jazer(IA)
and spread toward the desert.
Their shoots spread out(IB)
and went as far as the sea.[h](IC)
9 So I weep,(ID) as Jazer weeps,
for the vines of Sibmah.
Heshbon and Elealeh,(IE)
I drench you with tears!(IF)
The shouts of joy(IG) over your ripened fruit
and over your harvests(IH) have been stilled.
10 Joy and gladness are taken away from the orchards;(II)
no one sings or shouts(IJ) in the vineyards;
no one treads(IK) out wine at the presses,(IL)
for I have put an end to the shouting.
11 My heart laments for Moab(IM) like a harp,(IN)
my inmost being(IO) for Kir Hareseth.
12 When Moab appears at her high place,(IP)
she only wears herself out;
when she goes to her shrine(IQ) to pray,
it is to no avail.(IR)
13 This is the word the Lord has already spoken concerning Moab. 14 But now the Lord says: “Within three years,(IS) as a servant bound by contract(IT) would count them,(IU) Moab’s splendor and all her many people will be despised,(IV) and her survivors will be very few and feeble.”(IW)
A Prophecy Against Damascus
17 A prophecy(IX) against Damascus:(IY)
“See, Damascus will no longer be a city
but will become a heap of ruins.(IZ)
2 The cities of Aroer(JA) will be deserted
and left to flocks,(JB) which will lie down,(JC)
with no one to make them afraid.(JD)
3 The fortified(JE) city will disappear from Ephraim,
and royal power from Damascus;
the remnant of Aram will be
like the glory(JF) of the Israelites,”(JG)
declares the Lord Almighty.
4 “In that day(JH) the glory(JI) of Jacob will fade;
the fat of his body will waste(JJ) away.
5 It will be as when reapers harvest the standing grain,
gathering(JK) the grain in their arms—
as when someone gleans heads of grain(JL)
in the Valley of Rephaim.(JM)
6 Yet some gleanings will remain,(JN)
as when an olive tree is beaten,(JO)
leaving two or three olives on the topmost branches,
four or five on the fruitful boughs,”
declares the Lord, the God of Israel.
7 In that day(JP) people will look(JQ) to their Maker(JR)
and turn their eyes to the Holy One(JS) of Israel.
8 They will not look to the altars,(JT)
the work of their hands,(JU)
and they will have no regard for the Asherah poles[i](JV)
and the incense altars their fingers(JW) have made.
9 In that day their strong cities, which they left because of the Israelites, will be like places abandoned to thickets and undergrowth.(JX) And all will be desolation.
10 You have forgotten(JY) God your Savior;(JZ)
you have not remembered the Rock,(KA) your fortress.(KB)
Therefore, though you set out the finest plants
and plant imported vines,(KC)
11 though on the day you set them out, you make them grow,
and on the morning(KD) when you plant them, you bring them to bud,
yet the harvest(KE) will be as nothing(KF)
in the day of disease and incurable(KG) pain.(KH)
12 Woe to the many nations that rage(KI)—
they rage like the raging sea!(KJ)
Woe to the peoples who roar(KK)—
they roar like the roaring of great waters!(KL)
13 Although the peoples roar(KM) like the roar of surging waters,
when he rebukes(KN) them they flee(KO) far away,
driven before the wind like chaff(KP) on the hills,
like tumbleweed before a gale.(KQ)
14 In the evening, sudden(KR) terror!(KS)
Before the morning, they are gone!(KT)
This is the portion of those who loot us,
the lot of those who plunder us.
A Prophecy Against Cush
18 Woe(KU) to the land of whirring wings[j]
along the rivers of Cush,[k](KV)
2 which sends envoys(KW) by sea
in papyrus(KX) boats over the water.
Go, swift messengers,
to a people tall and smooth-skinned,(KY)
to a people feared far and wide,
an aggressive(KZ) nation of strange speech,
whose land is divided by rivers.(LA)
3 All you people of the world,(LB)
you who live on the earth,
when a banner(LC) is raised on the mountains,
you will see it,
and when a trumpet(LD) sounds,
you will hear it.
4 This is what the Lord says to me:
“I will remain quiet(LE) and will look on from my dwelling place,(LF)
like shimmering heat in the sunshine,(LG)
like a cloud of dew(LH) in the heat of harvest.”
5 For, before the harvest, when the blossom is gone
and the flower becomes a ripening grape,
he will cut off(LI) the shoots with pruning knives,
and cut down and take away the spreading branches.(LJ)
6 They will all be left to the mountain birds of prey(LK)
and to the wild animals;(LL)
the birds will feed on them all summer,
the wild animals all winter.
7 At that time gifts(LM) will be brought to the Lord Almighty
from a people tall and smooth-skinned,(LN)
from a people feared(LO) far and wide,
an aggressive nation of strange speech,
whose land is divided by rivers(LP)—
the gifts will be brought to Mount Zion, the place of the Name of the Lord Almighty.(LQ)
Footnotes
- Isaiah 13:6 Hebrew Shaddai
- Isaiah 13:19 Or Chaldeans
- Isaiah 14:4 Dead Sea Scrolls, Septuagint and Syriac; the meaning of the word in the Masoretic Text is uncertain.
- Isaiah 14:13 Or of the north; Zaphon was the most sacred mountain of the Canaanites.
- Isaiah 15:9 Dimon, a wordplay on Dibon (see verse 2), sounds like the Hebrew for blood.
- Isaiah 15:9 Dimon, a wordplay on Dibon (see verse 2), sounds like the Hebrew for blood.
- Isaiah 16:5 Hebrew tent
- Isaiah 16:8 Probably the Dead Sea
- Isaiah 17:8 That is, wooden symbols of the goddess Asherah
- Isaiah 18:1 Or of locusts
- Isaiah 18:1 That is, the upper Nile region
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