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Isaiah 16-18
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Isaiah 16-18
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
16 Send lambs
to the ruler of the land,
from Sela, by way of the desert,
to the mount of daughter Zion.(A)
2 Like fluttering birds,
like scattered nestlings,
so are the daughters of Moab
at the fords of the Arnon.(B)
3 “Give counsel;
grant justice;
make your shade like night
at the height of noon;
hide the outcasts;
do not betray the fugitive;(C)
4 let the outcasts of Moab
settle among you;
be a refuge to them
from the destroyer.”
When the oppressor is no more,
and destruction has ceased,
and marauders have vanished from the land,(D)
5 then a throne shall be established in steadfast love
in the tent of David,
and on it shall sit in faithfulness
a ruler who seeks justice
and is swift to do what is right.(E)
6 We have heard of the pride of Moab
—how proud he is!—
of his arrogance, his pride, and his insolence;
his boasts are false.(F)
7 Therefore let Moab wail;
let everyone wail for Moab.
Mourn, utterly stricken,
for the raisin cakes of Kir-hareseth.(G)
8 For the fields of Heshbon languish,
and the vines of Sibmah,
whose clusters once made drunk
the lords of the nations,
reached to Jazer
and strayed to the desert;
their shoots once spread abroad
and crossed over the sea.(H)
9 Therefore I weep as Jazer weeps
for the vines of Sibmah;
I drench you with my tears,
O Heshbon and Elealeh,
for the shout over your fruit harvest
and your grain harvest has ceased.(I)
10 Joy and gladness are taken away
from the fruitful field,
and in the vineyards no exultation is heard;
no shouts are raised;
no treader treads out wine in the presses;
the vintage shout is hushed.[a](J)
11 Therefore my heart moans like a harp for Moab
and my very soul for Kir-heres.(K)
12 When Moab presents himself, when he wearies himself upon the high place, when he comes to his sanctuary to pray, he will not prevail.(L)
13 This was the word that the Lord spoke concerning Moab in the past. 14 But now the Lord says, “In three years, like the years of a hired worker, the glory of Moab will be brought into contempt, in spite of all its great multitude, and those who survive will be very few and feeble.”(M)
An Oracle concerning Damascus
17 An oracle concerning Damascus.
See, Damascus will cease to be a city
and will become a heap of ruins.(N)
2 Her towns will be deserted forever;[b]
they will be places for flocks,
which will lie down, and no one will make them afraid.(O)
3 The fortress will disappear from Ephraim
and the kingdom from Damascus,
and the remnant of Aram will be
like the glory of the people of Israel,
says the Lord of hosts.(P)
4 On that day
the glory of Jacob will be brought low,
and the fat of his flesh will grow lean.(Q)
5 And it shall be as when reapers gather standing grain
and their arms harvest the ears,
and as when one gleans the ears of grain
in the Valley of Rephaim.(R)
6 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,
says the Lord God of Israel.(S)
7 On that day people will look to their Maker, with their eyes on the Holy One of Israel;(T) 8 they will not have regard for the altars, the work of their hands, and they will not look to what their own fingers have made, either the sacred poles[c] or the altars of incense.(U)
9 On that day their fortified cities will be like the deserted places of the Hivites and the Amorites,[d] which they deserted because of the people of Israel, and there will be desolation.(V)
10 For you have forgotten God your Savior
and have not remembered the Rock of your refuge;
therefore, though you plant pleasant gardens
and set out branches of a foreign god,(W)
11 though you make them grow on the day that you plant them
and make them blossom in the morning that you sow,
yet the harvest will flee away
in a day of sickness and incurable pain.(X)
12 Woe, the thunder of many peoples,
they thunder like the thundering of the sea!
The roar of nations,
they roar like the roaring of mighty waters!(Y)
13 [[When the nations roar like the roaring of many waters,]][e]
he will rebuke them, and they will flee far away,
chased like chaff on the mountains before the wind
and like whirling dust before the storm.(Z)
14 At evening time, sudden terror!
Before morning, they are no more.
This is the fate of those who despoil us
and the lot of those who plunder us.(AA)
An Oracle concerning Cush
18 Woe, land of buzzing[f] wings
beyond the rivers of Cush,(AB)
2 sending ambassadors by the Nile
in vessels of papyrus on the waters!
Go, you swift messengers,
to a nation tall and smooth,
to a people feared near and far,
a nation mighty[g] and conquering,
whose land the rivers divide.(AC)
3 All you inhabitants of the world,
you who live on the earth,
when a signal is raised on the mountains, look!
When a trumpet is blown, listen!(AD)
4 For thus the Lord said to me:
“I will quietly look from my dwelling
like clear heat in sunshine,
like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.”(AE)
5 For before the harvest, when the blossom is over
and the flower becomes a ripening grape,
he will cut off the shoots with pruning hooks,
and the spreading branches he will hew away.(AF)
6 They shall all be left
to the birds of prey of the mountains
and to the animals of the earth.
And the birds of prey will summer on them,
and all the animals of the earth will winter on them.(AG)
7 At that time gifts will be brought to the Lord of hosts from[h] a people tall and smooth, from a people feared near and far, a nation mighty and conquering, whose land the rivers divide, to Mount Zion, the place of the name of the Lord of hosts.(AH)
Footnotes
- 16.10 Cn Compare Gk: Heb I have hushed
- 17.2 Cn Compare Gk: Heb the cities of Aroer are deserted
- 17.8 Heb Asherahs
- 17.9 Cn Compare Gk: Heb places of the wood and the highest bough
- 17.13 Heb mss Syr lack When . . . waters
- 18.1 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 18.2 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 18.7 Q ms Gk Vg: MT of
Isaiah 16-18
New International Version
Isaiah 16-18
New International Version
16 Send lambs(A) as tribute(B)
to the ruler of the land,
from Sela,(C) across the desert,
to the mount of Daughter Zion.(D)
2 Like fluttering birds
pushed from the nest,(E)
so are the women of Moab(F)
at the fords(G) of the Arnon.(H)
3 “Make up your mind,” Moab says.
“Render a decision.
Make your shadow like night—
at high noon.
Hide the fugitives,(I)
do not betray the refugees.
4 Let the Moabite fugitives stay with you;
be their shelter(J) from the destroyer.”
The oppressor(K) will come to an end,
and destruction will cease;(L)
the aggressor will vanish from the land.
5 In love a throne(M) will be established;(N)
in faithfulness a man will sit on it—
one from the house[a] of David(O)—
one who in judging seeks justice(P)
and speeds the cause of righteousness.
6 We have heard of Moab’s(Q) pride(R)—
how great is her arrogance!—
of her conceit, her pride and her insolence;
but her boasts are empty.
7 Therefore the Moabites wail,(S)
they wail together for Moab.
Lament and grieve
for the raisin cakes(T) of Kir Hareseth.(U)
8 The fields of Heshbon(V) wither,(W)
the vines of Sibmah(X) also.
The rulers of the nations
have trampled down the choicest vines,(Y)
which once reached Jazer(Z)
and spread toward the desert.
Their shoots spread out(AA)
and went as far as the sea.[b](AB)
9 So I weep,(AC) as Jazer weeps,
for the vines of Sibmah.
Heshbon and Elealeh,(AD)
I drench you with tears!(AE)
The shouts of joy(AF) over your ripened fruit
and over your harvests(AG) have been stilled.
10 Joy and gladness are taken away from the orchards;(AH)
no one sings or shouts(AI) in the vineyards;
no one treads(AJ) out wine at the presses,(AK)
for I have put an end to the shouting.
11 My heart laments for Moab(AL) like a harp,(AM)
my inmost being(AN) for Kir Hareseth.
12 When Moab appears at her high place,(AO)
she only wears herself out;
when she goes to her shrine(AP) to pray,
it is to no avail.(AQ)
13 This is the word the Lord has already spoken concerning Moab. 14 But now the Lord says: “Within three years,(AR) as a servant bound by contract(AS) would count them,(AT) Moab’s splendor and all her many people will be despised,(AU) and her survivors will be very few and feeble.”(AV)
A Prophecy Against Damascus
17 A prophecy(AW) against Damascus:(AX)
“See, Damascus will no longer be a city
but will become a heap of ruins.(AY)
2 The cities of Aroer(AZ) will be deserted
and left to flocks,(BA) which will lie down,(BB)
with no one to make them afraid.(BC)
3 The fortified(BD) city will disappear from Ephraim,
and royal power from Damascus;
the remnant of Aram will be
like the glory(BE) of the Israelites,”(BF)
declares the Lord Almighty.
4 “In that day(BG) the glory(BH) of Jacob will fade;
the fat of his body will waste(BI) away.
5 It will be as when reapers harvest the standing grain,
gathering(BJ) the grain in their arms—
as when someone gleans heads of grain(BK)
in the Valley of Rephaim.(BL)
6 Yet some gleanings will remain,(BM)
as when an olive tree is beaten,(BN)
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(BO) people will look(BP) to their Maker(BQ)
and turn their eyes to the Holy One(BR) of Israel.
8 They will not look to the altars,(BS)
the work of their hands,(BT)
and they will have no regard for the Asherah poles[c](BU)
and the incense altars their fingers(BV) 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.(BW) And all will be desolation.
10 You have forgotten(BX) God your Savior;(BY)
you have not remembered the Rock,(BZ) your fortress.(CA)
Therefore, though you set out the finest plants
and plant imported vines,(CB)
11 though on the day you set them out, you make them grow,
and on the morning(CC) when you plant them, you bring them to bud,
yet the harvest(CD) will be as nothing(CE)
in the day of disease and incurable(CF) pain.(CG)
12 Woe to the many nations that rage(CH)—
they rage like the raging sea!(CI)
Woe to the peoples who roar(CJ)—
they roar like the roaring of great waters!(CK)
13 Although the peoples roar(CL) like the roar of surging waters,
when he rebukes(CM) them they flee(CN) far away,
driven before the wind like chaff(CO) on the hills,
like tumbleweed before a gale.(CP)
14 In the evening, sudden(CQ) terror!(CR)
Before the morning, they are gone!(CS)
This is the portion of those who loot us,
the lot of those who plunder us.
A Prophecy Against Cush
18 Woe(CT) to the land of whirring wings[d]
along the rivers of Cush,[e](CU)
2 which sends envoys(CV) by sea
in papyrus(CW) boats over the water.
Go, swift messengers,
to a people tall and smooth-skinned,(CX)
to a people feared far and wide,
an aggressive(CY) nation of strange speech,
whose land is divided by rivers.(CZ)
3 All you people of the world,(DA)
you who live on the earth,
when a banner(DB) is raised on the mountains,
you will see it,
and when a trumpet(DC) sounds,
you will hear it.
4 This is what the Lord says to me:
“I will remain quiet(DD) and will look on from my dwelling place,(DE)
like shimmering heat in the sunshine,(DF)
like a cloud of dew(DG) 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(DH) the shoots with pruning knives,
and cut down and take away the spreading branches.(DI)
6 They will all be left to the mountain birds of prey(DJ)
and to the wild animals;(DK)
the birds will feed on them all summer,
the wild animals all winter.
7 At that time gifts(DL) will be brought to the Lord Almighty
from a people tall and smooth-skinned,(DM)
from a people feared(DN) far and wide,
an aggressive nation of strange speech,
whose land is divided by rivers(DO)—
the gifts will be brought to Mount Zion, the place of the Name of the Lord Almighty.(DP)
Footnotes
- 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
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition (NRSVUE)
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