Isaiah 20:1–22:25

NO HELP FROM CUSH OR EGYPT

20 In the year that the chief commander,j sent by King Sargon of Assyria, came to Ashdodk and attacked and captured it—2 during that time the Lord had spoken through Isaiahl son of Amoz, saying, “Go, take off your sackcloth and remove the sandals from your feet,” and he did that, going stripped and barefootm—3 the 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 Egypto and the exiles of Cush, young and old alike, stripped and barefoot, with bared buttocks—to Egypt’s shame. 5 Those 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?’ ”

A JUDGMENT ON BABYLON

21 A pronouncementq concerning the desert by the sea:r

Like storms that pass over the Negev,

it comes from the desert, from the land of terror.

2 A troubling vision is declared to me:

“The treacherous one acts treacherously,s

and the destroyer destroys.

Advance, Elam! Lay siege, you Medes!

I will put an end to all the groaning.”

3 Therefore I amA filled with anguish.

Pain grips me, like the pain of a woman in labor.t

I am too perplexed to hear,

too dismayed to see.

4 My heart staggers;

horror terrifies me.

He has turned my last glimmer of hopeB

into sheer terror.u

5 Prepare a table,v and spread out a carpet!

Eat and drink!

Rise up, you princes, and oil the shields!

6 For the Lord has said to me,

“Go, post a lookout;

let him report what he sees.

7 When he sees riders—

pairs of horsemen,

riders on donkeys,

riders on camels—

he must pay close attention.”

8 Then the lookoutC reported,

“Lord, I stand on the watchtower all day,a

and I stay at my post all night.

9 Look, riders come—

horsemen in pairs.”

And he answered, saying,

“Babylon has fallen,b has fallen.

All the images of her gods

have been shattered on the ground.”c

10 My people who have been crushed

on the threshing floor,d

I have declared to you

what I have heard from the Lord of Armies,

the God of Israel.

A PRONOUNCEMENT AGAINST DUMAH

11 A pronouncemente concerning Dumah:A,f

One calls to me from Seir,g

“Watchman, what is left of the night?

Watchman, what is left of the night?”

12 The watchman said,

“Morning has come, and also night.

If you want to ask, ask!

Come back again.”

A PRONOUNCEMENT AGAINST ARABIA

13 A pronouncement concerning Arabia:h

In the desertB brush

you will camp for the night,

you caravans of Dedanites.i

14 Bring water for the thirsty.

The inhabitants of the land of Temaj

meetC the refugees with food.

15 For they have fled from swords,

from the drawn sword,

from the bow that is strung,

and from the stress of battle.

16 For the Lord said this to me: “Within one year,k as a hired worker counts years, all the glory of Kedarl will be gone. 17 The remaining Kedarite archers will be few in number.” For the Lord, the God of Israel, has spoken.

A PRONOUNCEMENT AGAINST JERUSALEM

22 A pronouncementm concerning the Valley of Vision:n

What’s the matter with you?

Why have all of you gone up to the rooftops?o

2 The noisy city, the jubilant town,p

is filled with celebration.

Your dead did not die by the sword;

they were not killed in battle.

3 All your rulers have fled together,

captured without a bow.

All your fugitives were captured together;

they had fled far away.

4 Therefore I said,

“Look away from me! Let me weep bitterly!q

Do not try to comfort me

about the destruction of my dearD people.”

5 For the Lord God of Armies

had a day of tumult, trampling, and confusionr

in the Valley of Vision—

people shoutingE and crying to the mountains;

6 Elam took up a quiver

with chariots and horsemen,F

and Kirs uncovered the shield.

7 Your best valleys were full of chariots,

and horsemen were positioned at the city gates.

8 He removed the defenses of Judah.

On that day you looked to the weapons in the House of the Forest.t 9 You saw that there were many breaches in the walls of the city of David.u You collected water from the lower pool.v 10 You counted the houses of Jerusalem so that you could tear them down to fortify the wall. 11 You made a reservoir between the wallsw for the water of the ancient pool,x but you did not look to the one who made it, or consider the one who created it long ago.

12 On that day the Lord God of Armies

called for weeping,y for wailing, for shaven heads,

and for the wearing of sackcloth.

13 But look: joy and gladness,

butchering of cattle, slaughtering of sheep and goats,

eating of meat, and drinking of wine—

“Let’s eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!”a

14 The Lord of Armies has directly revealed to me:b

“This iniquity will not be wiped out for you people as long as you live.”A,c

The Lord God of Armies has spoken.

A PRONOUNCEMENT AGAINST SHEBNA

15 The Lord God of Armies said, “Go to Shebna,d that steward who is in charge of the palace, and say to him: 16 What are you doing here? Who authorized you to carve out a tomb for yourself here, carving your tomb on the height and cutting a resting place for yourself out of rock?e 17 Look, you strong man! The Lord is about to shake you violently. He will take hold of you, 18 wind you up into a ball, and sling you into a wide land.B There you will die, and there your glorious chariots will be—a disgrace to the house of your lord. 19 I will remove you from your office; you will be ousted from your position.

20 “On that day I will call for my servant, Eliakim son of Hilkiah.f 21 I will clothe him with your robe and tie your sash around him. I will hand your authority over to him, and he will be like a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah.g 22 I will place the keyh of the house of David on his shoulder; what he opens, no one can close; what he closes, no one can open.i 23 I will drive him, like a peg, into a firm place. He will be a throne of honor for his father’s family. 24 They will hang on him all the glory of his father’s family: the descendants and the offshoots—all the small vessels, from bowls to every kind of jar. 25 On that day”—the declaration of the Lord of Armies—“the peg that was driven into a firm place will give way, be cut off, and fall, and the load on it will be destroyed.” Indeed, the Lord has spoken.