Isaiah 31:1–32:20
Woe to Those Who Go Down to Egypt
31 Woe1 to vthose who go down to Egypt for help
and rely on horses,
who wtrust in chariots because they are many
and in horsemen because they are very strong,
but xdo not look to the Holy One of Israel
or consult the Lord!
2 And yyet he is wise and brings disaster;
zhe does not call back his words,
but awill arise against the house of the evildoers
and against the helpers of bthose who work iniquity.
3 The Egyptians are man, and not God,
and their horses care flesh, and not spirit.
When the Lord stretches out his hand,
the helper will stumble, and he who is helped will fall,
and they will all perish together.
4 For thus the Lord said to me,
d“As a lion or a young lion growls over his prey,
and when a band of shepherds is called out against him
he is not terrified by their shouting
or daunted at their noise,
eso the Lord of hosts will come down
to fight2 on Mount Zion and on its hill.
5 fLike birds hovering, so the Lord of hosts
will protect Jerusalem;
he will protect and deliver it;
he will spare and rescue it.”
6 gTurn to him from whom people3 have hdeeply revolted, O children of Israel. 7 For in that day ieveryone shall cast away his idols of silver and his idols of gold, which your hands have sinfully made for you.
8 j“And the Assyrian shall fall by a sword, not of man;
and a sword, not of man, shall devour him;
and he shall flee from the sword,
and his young men shall be kput to forced labor.
9 lHis rock shall pass away in terror,
and his officers desert the standard in panic,”
declares the Lord, whose mfire is in Zion,
and whose nfurnace is in Jerusalem.
A King Will Reign in Righteousness
32 Behold, oa king will reign in righteousness,
and princes will rule in justice.
2 pEach will be like a hiding place from the wind,
a shelter from the storm,
qlike streams of water in a dry place,
like the shade of a great rock in a weary land.
3 rThen the eyes of those who see will not be closed,
and the ears of those who hear will give attention.
4 The heart of the hasty will understand and know,
sand the tongue of the stammerers will hasten to speak distinctly.
5 tThe fool will no more be called noble,
nor the scoundrel said to be honorable.
6 For uthe fool speaks folly,
and his heart is busy with iniquity,
to practice ungodliness,
to utter error concerning the Lord,
vto leave the craving of the hungry unsatisfied,
and to deprive the thirsty of drink.
7 As for the scoundrel—whis devices are evil;
he plans wicked schemes
to ruin the poor with lying words,
even when the plea of the needy is right.
8 But he who is noble plans noble things,
and on noble things he stands.
Complacent Women Warned of Disaster
9 xRise up, you women ywho are at ease, hear my voice;
you complacent daughters, give ear to my speech.
you will shudder, you complacent women;
for the grape harvest fails,
the fruit harvest will not come.
11 Tremble, you women ywho are at ease,
shudder, you complacent ones;
zstrip, and make yourselves bare,
aand tie sackcloth around your waist.
12 bBeat your breasts for the pleasant fields,
for the fruitful vine,
13 cfor the soil of my people
growing up in thorns and briers,
dyes, for all the joyous houses
in the exultant city.
14 For the palace is forsaken,
the populous city deserted;
the hill and the watchtower
will become dens forever,
ea joy of wild donkeys,
a pasture of flocks;
15 until fthe Spirit is poured upon us from on high,
and gthe wilderness becomes a fruitful field,
and the fruitful field is deemed a forest.
16 Then justice will dwell in the wilderness,
and righteousness abide in the fruitful field.
17 hAnd the effect of righteousness will be peace,
and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust1 forever.
18 My people will abide in a peaceful habitation,
in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places.
19 iAnd it will hail when the forest falls down,
jand the city will be utterly laid low.
20 kHappy are you who sow beside all waters,
who let the feet of the ox and the donkey range free.