Isaiah 17–20

A PRONOUNCEMENT AGAINST DAMASCUS

17A pronouncement^g concerning Damascus:^h

Look, Damascus is no longer a city.

It has become a ruined heap.

²The cities of Aroer are abandoned;

they will be places for flocks.

They will lie down without fear.

³The fortress disappears from Ephraim,ⁱ

and a kingdom from Damascus.

The remnant of Aram will be

like the splendor of the Israelites.

This is the declaration of the Lord of Armies.

JUDGMENT AGAINST ISRAEL

⁴On that day

the splendor of Jacob will fade,

and his healthy body^C will become emaciated.^j

⁵It will be as if a reaper had gathered standing grain—

his arm harvesting the heads of grain—

and as if one had gleaned heads of grain

in Rephaim Valley.^k

⁶Only gleanings will be left in Israel,^l

as if an olive tree had been beaten—

two or three olives at the very top of the tree,

four or five on its fruitful branches.

This is the declaration of the Lord,

the God of Israel.

⁷On that day people will look to their Maker and will turn their eyes to the Holy One of Israel.^{m 8}They will not look to the altarsⁿ they made with their hands or to the Asherahs and shrines^Ao they made with their fingers.

⁹On that day their strong cities will be

like the abandoned woods and mountaintops

that were abandoned because of the Israelites;

there will be desolation.

¹⁰For you have forgotten the God of your salvation,

and you have failed to remember

the rock of your strength;^p

therefore you will plant beautiful plants

and set out cuttings from exotic vines.

¹¹On the day that you plant,

you will help them to grow,

and in the morning

you will help your seed to sprout,

but the harvest will vanish

on the day of disease and incurable pain.

JUDGMENT AGAINST THE NATIONS

¹²Ah! The roar of many peoples—

they roar like the roaring of the seas.

The raging of the nations—

they rage like the rumble of rushing water.^q

¹³The nations rage like the rumble of a huge torrent.^r

He rebukes them, and they flee far away,^s

driven before the wind like chaff on the hills^t

and like tumbleweeds before a gale.

¹⁴In the evening—sudden terror!

Before morning—it is gone!

This is the fate of those who plunder us

and the lot of those who ravage us.

THE LORD’S MESSAGE TO CUSH

18Woe to the land of buzzing insect wings^B

beyond the rivers of Cush,^a

²which sends envoys by sea,

in reed vessels over the water.

Go, swift messengers,

to a nation tall and smooth-skinned,

to a people feared far and near,

a powerful nation with a strange language,^A

whose land is divided by rivers.

³All you inhabitants of the world

and you who live on the earth,

when a banner is raised on the mountains, look!

When a trumpet sounds, listen!

⁴For the Lord said to me:

I will quietly look out from my place,

like shimmering heat in sunshine,

like a rain cloud in harvest heat.

⁵For before the harvest, when the blossoming is over

and the blossom becomes a ripening grape,

he will cut off the shoots with a pruning knife,

and tear away and remove the branches.

⁶They will all be left for the birds of prey on the hills

and for the wild animals of the land.

The birds of prey will spend the summer feeding on them,

and all the wild animals the winter.

⁷At that time a gift will be brought to the Lord of Armies from^B a people tall and smooth-skinned,^b a people feared far and near, a powerful nation with a strange language, whose land is divided by rivers—to Mount Zion, the place of the name of the Lord of Armies.

A PRONOUNCEMENT AGAINST EGYPT

19A pronouncement^c concerning Egypt:^d

Look, the Lord rides on a swift cloud^e

and is coming to Egypt.

Egypt’s worthless idols will tremble before him,^f

and Egypt will lose heart.^g

²I will provoke Egyptians against Egyptians;

each will fight against his brother^h

and each against his friend,

city against city, kingdom against kingdom.ⁱ

³Egypt’s spirit will be disturbed within it,

and I will frustrate its plans.

Then they will inquire of worthless idols, ghosts,

mediums, and spiritists.^j

⁴I will hand over Egypt to harsh masters,^k

and a strong king will rule it.

This is the declaration of the Lord God of Armies.

⁵The water of the sea will dry up,

and the river will be parched and dry.

⁶The channels will stink;

they will dwindle, and Egypt’s canals will be parched.

Reed and rush will wilt.

⁷The reeds by the Nile, by the mouth of the river,

and all the cultivated areas of the Nile

will wither, blow away, and vanish.

⁸Then the fishermen will mourn.

All those who cast hooks into the Nile will lament,

and those who spread nets on the water will give up.

⁹Those who work with flax will be dismayed;^l

those combing it and weaving linen will turn pale.^A

¹⁰Egypt’s weavers^B will be dejected;

all her wage earners will be demoralized.

¹¹The princes of Zoan are complete fools;^m

Pharaoh’s wisest advisers give stupid advice!

How can you say to Pharaoh,

“I am one^C of the wise,

a student of eastern^D kings”?

¹²Where then are your wise men?

Let them tell you and reveal

what the Lord of Armies has planned against Egypt.

¹³The princes of Zoan have been fools;

the princes of Memphis are deceived.^a

Her tribal chieftains have led Egypt astray.

¹⁴The Lord has mixed within her a spirit of confusion.

The leaders have made Egypt stagger in all she does,

as a drunkard staggers in his vomit.

¹⁵No head or tail, palm or reed,^b

will be able to do anything for Egypt.

EGYPT WILL KNOW THE LORD

¹⁶On that day Egypt will be like women and will tremble with fear because of the threatening hand of the Lord of Armies when he raises it against them. ¹⁷The land of Judah will terrify Egypt; whenever Judah is mentioned, Egypt will tremble because of what the Lord of Armies has planned^c against it.

¹⁸On that day five cities in the land of Egypt will speak the language of Canaan and swear loyalty to the Lord of Armies. One of the cities will be called the City of the Sun.^EF

¹⁹On that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the center of the land of Egypt and a pillar to the Lord near her border.^{d 20}It will be a sign and witness to the Lord of Armies in the land of Egypt. When they cry out to the Lord because of their oppressors, he will send them a savior and leader, and he will rescue them.^{e 21}The Lord will make himself known to Egypt, and Egypt will know the Lord on that day. They will offer sacrifices and offerings;^f they will make vows to the Lord and fulfill them. ²²The Lord will strike Egypt, striking and healing. Then they will turn to the Lord, and he will be receptive to their prayers and heal them.

²³On that day there will be a highway^g from Egypt to Assyria. Assyria will go to Egypt, Egypt to Assyria, and Egypt will worship with Assyria.

²⁴On that day Israel will form a triple alliance with Egypt and Assyria—a blessing within the land. ²⁵The Lord of Armies will bless them, saying, “Egypt my people, Assyria my handiwork,^h and Israel my inheritance are blessed.”ⁱ

NO HELP FROM CUSH OR EGYPT

20In the year that the chief commander,^j sent by King Sargon of Assyria, came to Ashdod^k and attacked and captured it—²during that time the Lord had spoken through Isaiah^l son of Amoz, saying, “Go, take off your sackcloth and remove the sandals from your feet,” and he did that, going stripped and barefoot^m—³the Lord said, “As my servant Isaiah has gone stripped and barefoot three years as a sign and omen against Egypt and Cush,^{n 4}so the king of Assyria will lead the captives of Egypt^o and the exiles of Cush, young and old alike, stripped and barefoot, with bared buttocks—to Egypt’s shame. ⁵Those who made Cush their hope and Egypt their boast will be dismayed and ashamed.^{p 6}And the inhabitants of this coastland will say on that day, ‘Look, this is what has happened to those we relied on and fled to for help to rescue us from the king of Assyria! Now, how will we escape?’ ”