Isaiah 11–13

REIGN OF THE DAVIDIC KING

11Then a shoot will grow from the stump of Jesse,^c

and a branch^d from his roots will bear fruit.

²The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him^e—

a Spirit of wisdom and understanding,

a Spirit of counsel and strength,

a Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.

³His delight will be in the fear of the Lord.

He will not judge

by what he sees with his eyes,^f

he will not execute justice

by what he hears with his ears,

⁴but he will judge the poor righteously^g

and execute justice for the oppressed of the land.

He will strike the land

with a scepter^B from his mouth,^h

and he will kill the wickedⁱ

with a command^C from his lips.^j

⁵Righteousness will be a belt around his hips;^k

faithfulness will be a belt around his waist.

⁶The wolf will dwell with the lamb,^m

and the leopard will lie down with the goat.

The calf, the young lion, and the fattened calf will be together,

and a child will lead them.

⁷The cow and the bear will graze,

their young ones will lie down together,

and the lion will eat straw like cattle.

⁸An infant will play beside the cobra’s pit,

and a toddler will put his hand into a snake’s den.

⁹They will not harm or destroy each other

on my entire holy mountain,

for the land will be as full

of the knowledge of the Lord

as the sea is filled with water.ⁿ

ISRAEL REGATHERED

¹⁰On that day the root of Jesse^o

will stand as a banner for the peoples.^p

The nations will look to him for guidance,^q

and his resting place will be glorious.^r

¹¹On that day^s the Lord will extend his hand a second time to recover the remnant of his people who survive—from Assyria, Egypt, Pathros, Cush, Elam, Shinar, Hamath, and the coasts and islands of the west.^t

¹²He will lift up a banner for the nations

and gather the dispersed of Israel;^a

he will collect the scattered of Judah

from the four corners of the earth.^b

¹³Ephraim’s envy will cease;^c

Judah’s harassing will end.

Ephraim will no longer be envious of Judah,

and Judah will not harass Ephraim.

¹⁴But they will swoop down

on the Philistine flank to the west.

Together they will plunder the people of the east.^d

They will extend their power over Edom and Moab,

and the Ammonites will be their subjects.^e

¹⁵The Lord will divide^AB the Gulf of Suez.^C

He will wave his hand over the Euphrates

with his mighty wind^f

and will split it into seven streams,

letting people walk through on foot.

¹⁶There will be a highway for the remnant of his people

who will survive from Assyria,^g

as there was for Israel

when they came up from the land of Egypt.^h

A SONG OF PRAISE

12On that day you will say:

“I will give thanks to you, Lord,

although you were angry with me.

Your anger has turned away,

and you have comforted me.ⁱ

²Indeed, God is my salvation;

I will trust him and not be afraid,

for the Lord, the Lord himself,

is my strength and my song.

He has become my salvation.”^j

³You will joyfully draw water^k

from the springs of salvation,

⁴and on that day you will say,

“Give thanks to the Lord; proclaim his name!

Make his works known among the peoples.^l

Declare that his name is exalted.

⁵Sing to the Lord, for he has done glorious things.^m

Let this be known throughout the earth.

⁶Cry out and sing, citizen of Zion,

for the Holy One of Israelⁿ is among you

in his greatness.”

A PRONOUNCEMENT AGAINST BABYLON

13A pronouncement^o concerning Babylon^p that Isaiah son of Amoz saw:

²Lift up a banner on a barren mountain.^q

Call out to them.

Signal with your hand, and they will go

through the gates of the nobles.

³I have commanded my consecrated ones;

yes, I have called my warriors,

who celebrate my triumph,

to execute my wrath.^r

⁴Listen, a commotion on the mountains,

like that of a mighty people!

Listen, an uproar among the kingdoms,

like nations being gathered together!

The Lord of Armies is mobilizing an army for war.

⁵They are coming from a distant land,

from the farthest horizon—

the Lord and the weapons of his wrath—

to destroy the whole country.^A

⁶Wail! For the day of the Lord is near.^s

It will come as destruction from the Almighty.^t

⁷Therefore everyone’s hands will become weak,

and every man will lose heart.

⁸They will be horrified;

pain and agony will seize them;

they will be in anguish like a woman in labor.^u

They will look at each other,

their faces flushed with fear.

⁹Look, the day^v of the Lord is coming—

cruel, with fury and burning anger—

to make the earth a desolation

and to destroy its sinners.^w

¹⁰Indeed, the stars of the sky and its constellations^B

will not give their light.

The sun will be dark when it rises,

and the moon will not shine.^a

¹¹I will punish the world for its evil,^b

and wicked people for their iniquities.

I will put an end to the pride of the arrogant^c

and humiliate the insolence of tyrants.

¹²I will make a human more scarce than fine gold,

and mankind more rare than the gold of Ophir.^d

¹³Therefore I will make the heavens tremble,

and the earth will shake from its foundations^e

at the wrath of the Lord of Armies,

on the day of his burning anger.

¹⁴Like wandering gazelles

and like sheep without a shepherd,^f

each one will turn to his own people,

each one will flee to his own land.

¹⁵Whoever is found will be stabbed,

and whoever is caught will die by the sword.

¹⁶Their children will be dashed to pieces before their eyes;^g

their houses will be looted,

and their wives raped.

¹⁷Look! I am stirring up the Medes against them,^h

who cannot be bought off with^A silver

and who have no desire for gold.

¹⁸Their bows will cut young men to pieces.

They will have no compassion on offspring;

they will not look with pity on children.

¹⁹And Babylon, the jewel of the kingdoms,

the glory of the pride of the Chaldeans,

will be like Sodom and Gomorrah

when God overthrew them.ⁱ

²⁰It will never be inhabited

or lived in from generation to generation;^j

a nomad will not pitch his tent there,

and shepherds will not let their flocks rest there.

²¹But desert creatures will lie down there,

and owls will fill the houses.

Ostriches will dwell there,

and wild goats will leap about.^k

²²Hyenas will howl in the fortresses,

and jackals, in the luxurious palaces.

Babylon’s time is almost up;

her days are almost over.