Isaiah 31–33

31ST CHAPTER

The Lord, Not the Egyptians, Will Protect His People from Assyria

¹How horrible it will be for those 

who go to Egypt for help, 

who rely on horses, 

who depend on many chariots, 

who depend on very strong war horses. 

They don’t look to the Holy One of Israel. 

They don’t seek the Lord. 

²He is wise and can bring about disaster. 

He doesn’t take back his words. 

He rises against wicked people 

and against those who help troublemakers. 

³The Egyptians are humans, not gods. 

Their horses are flesh and blood, not spirit. 

When the Lord uses his powerful hand, 

the one who gives help will stumble, 

and the one who receives help will fall. 

Both will die together. 

⁴This is what the Lord said to me: 

A lion, even a young lion, growls over its prey 

when a crowd of shepherds is called to fight it. 

It isn’t frightened by their voices 

or disturbed by the noise they make. 

So the Lord of Armies will come to fight for 

Mount Zion and its hill. 

⁵The Lord of Armies will defend Jerusalem like a hovering bird. 

He will defend it and rescue it. 

He will pass over it and protect it. 

⁶You people of Israel, return to the one 

whom you have so violently rebelled against. 

⁷When that day comes, all of you will reject 

the silver and gold idols 

that your sinful hands have made. 

⁸Then Assyrians will be killed with swords not made by human hands. 

Swords not made by human hands will destroy them. 

They will flee from battle, 

and their young men will be made to do forced labor. 

⁹In terror they will run to their stronghold, 

and their officers will be frightened at ⸤the sight of⸥ the battle flag. 

The Lord declares this. His fire is in Zion and his furnace is in Jerusalem. 

32ND CHAPTER

The Lord Will Pour Out His Spirit and Bring Peace

¹A king will rule with fairness, 

and officials will rule with justice. 

²Then each ruler will be like a shelter from the wind 

and a hiding place from the rain. 

They will be like streams on parched ground 

and the shade of a large rock in a weary land. 

³Then the vision of those who can see won’t be blurred, 

and the ears of those who can hear will pay attention. 

⁴Then those who are reckless will begin to understand, 

and those who stutter will speak quickly and clearly. 

⁵Godless fools will no longer be called nobles, 

nor will scoundrels be considered gentlemen. 

⁶Godless fools speak foolishness, 

and their minds plan evil 

in order to do ungodly things. 

They speak falsely about the Lord. 

They let people go hungry 

and withhold water from thirsty people. 

⁷The tricks of scoundrels are evil. 

They devise wicked plans in order to ruin poor people with lies, 

even when needy people plead for justice. 

⁸But honorable people act honorably 

and stand firm for what is honorable. 

⁹Get up, and listen to me, you pampered women. 

Hear what I say, you overconfident daughters. 

¹⁰In a little less than a year 

you overconfident women will tremble, 

because the grape harvest will fail 

and no fruit will be brought in ⸤from the fields⸥. 

¹¹Shudder, you pampered women. 

Tremble, you overconfident women. 

Take off your clothes, walk around naked, 

and wear sackcloth around your waists. 

¹²Beat your breasts as you mourn for the fields, 

for the vines bearing grapes. 

¹³Mourn for my people’s land where thorns and briars will grow. 

Mourn for all the happy homes in a joyful city. 

¹⁴Palaces will be deserted. 

Noisy cities will be abandoned. 

Fortresses and watchtowers will become permanent caves. 

They will be a delight for wild donkeys and pastures for flocks 

¹⁵until the Spirit is poured on us from on high. 

Then the wilderness will be turned into a fertile field, 

and the fertile field will be considered a forest. 

¹⁶Then justice will live in the wilderness, 

and righteousness will be at home in the fertile field. 

¹⁷Then an act of righteousness will bring about peace, 

calm, and safety forever. 

¹⁸My people will live in a peaceful place, 

in safe homes and quiet places of rest. 

¹⁹The forest will be flattened because of hail, 

and the city will be completely leveled. 

²⁰Blessed are those who plant beside every stream 

and those who let oxen and donkeys roam freely. 

33RD CHAPTER

The Lord Will Rescue Jerusalem from Assyria

¹How horrible it will be for you, you destroyer, 

although you haven’t been destroyed. 

How horrible it will be for you, you traitor, 

although you haven’t been betrayed. 

When you’ve finished destroying, you will be destroyed. 

When you’ve finished being a traitor, you will be betrayed. 

²O Lord, have pity on us. 

We wait with hope for you. 

Be our strength in the morning. 

Yes, be our savior in times of trouble. 

³People flee from the noise of ⸤your⸥ army. 

Nations scatter when you attack. 

⁴You nations, your loot is gathered as grasshoppers harvest a crop. 

Like swarming locusts, people rush for your loot. 

⁵The Lord is honored because he lives on high. 

He will fill Zion with justice and righteousness. 

⁶He will be the foundation of your future. 

The riches of salvation are wisdom and knowledge. 

The fear of the Lord is ⸤your⸥ treasure. 

⁷Heroes cry in the streets. 

Messengers of peace cry bitterly. 

⁸Highways are deserted. 

Travelers stop traveling. 

Agreements are broken. 

Witnesses^aare rejected. 

People are no longer respected. 

⁹The country grieves and wastes away. 

Lebanon is ashamed and is decaying. 

Sharon has become like a wilderness. 

Bashan and Carmel are shaken. 

¹⁰The Lord says, “Now I will arise. 

Now I will get up. 

Now I will be lifted up.” 

¹¹You will be pregnant with hay. 

You will give birth to straw. 

Your breath will be a fire which will burn you up. 

¹²People will be cremated. 

They will be set on fire like dry thornbushes. 

¹³Hear what I have done, you people who are far away! 

Acknowledge my might, you people who are near! 

¹⁴The sinners in Zion are terrified. 

Trembling seizes the ungodly. 

Can any of us live through a fire that destroys? 

Can any of us live through a fire that burns forever? 

¹⁵The person who does what is right and speaks the truth will live. 

He rejects getting rich by extortion and refuses to take bribes. 

He refuses to listen to those who are plotting murders. 

He doesn’t look for evil things to do. 

¹⁶This person will live on high. 

His stronghold will be a fortress made of rock. 

He will have plenty of food 

and a dependable supply of water. 

¹⁷Your eyes will see how handsome the king is. 

You will see a land that stretches into the distance. 

¹⁸Your mind will be thinking of the terrors ⸤in the past⸥. 

Where are the scribes? 

Where are the tax collectors? 

Where are those who counted the towers? 

¹⁹You will no longer see those savage people, 

those people with an unrecognizable language, 

with a foreign language that you can’t understand. 

²⁰Look at Zion, the city of our festivals. 

Your eyes will see Jerusalem as a peaceful place. 

It is a tent that can’t be moved. 

Its tent pegs will never be pulled out, 

and none of its ropes will be broken. 

²¹The Lord will be our mighty defender 

in a place surrounded by wide rivers and streams. 

Ships with oars won’t travel on them. 

Stately ships won’t sail on them. 

²²The Lord is our judge. 

The Lord is our lawgiver. 

The Lord is our king. 

The Lord is our savior. 

²³Your ropes hang loose, 

your mast isn’t secure, 

and your sail isn’t spread out. 

A large amount of loot will be distributed. 

Lame people will carry off your loot. 

²⁴No one who lives ⸤in Zion⸥ will say, “I’m sick.” 

The sins of its inhabitants will be forgiven.