Isaiah 31–33

CHAPTER 31

Woe to Those Who Go Down to Egypt

¹Woe to those who go down to ^aEgypt for help

And ^brely on horses,

And trust in chariots because they are many

And in horsemen because they are very mighty,

But they do not have ^cregard for the ^dHoly One of Israel, nor seek Yahweh!

²Yet He also is ^awise and will ^bbring about an evil demise

And does ^cnot turn His words aside,

But will arise against the house of ^devildoers

And against the help of the ^eworkers of iniquity.

³Now the Egyptians are ^amen and not God,

And their ^bhorses are flesh and not spirit;

So Yahweh will ^cstretch out His hand,

And ^dhe who helps will stumble,

And he who is helped will fall,

And all of them will come to an end together.

⁴For thus says Yahweh to me,

“As the ^alion or the young lion growls over its prey,

Against which a multitude of shepherds is called out,

And it will not be dismayed at their voice nor afflicted at their noise,

So will Yahweh of hosts come down to wage ^bwar on Mount Zion and on its hill.”

⁵Like ¹flying ^abirds so Yahweh of hosts will defend Jerusalem.

He will ^bdefend and deliver it;

He will pass over and provide a way of escape.

^6aReturn to Him against whom ¹you have ^bdeeply rebelled, O sons of Israel.

⁷For in that day every man will ^areject his silver idols and his gold idols, which your ^bhands have made for you as ^ca sin.

⁸And the ^aAssyrian will fall by a sword not of man,

And a ^bsword not of man will devour him.

So he will ^1cflee from the sword,

And his choice men will become ^dforced laborers.

⁹“His ^arock will pass away because of terror,

And his princes will be dismayed at the ^bstandard,”

Declares Yahweh, whose ^cfire is in Zion and whose furnace is in Jerusalem.

CHAPTER 32

A King Will Reign Righteously

¹Behold, a ^aking will reign righteously

And princes will rule justly.

²Each will be like a ^arefuge from the wind

And a shelter from the storm,

Like ^1bstreams of water in a dry country,

Like the ^cshade of a ²huge rock in ³a weary land.

³Then ^athe eyes of those who see will not be ¹blinded,

And the ears of those who hear will pay attention.

⁴And the heart of the ^ahasty will discern knowledge,

And the tongue of the stammerers will hasten to speak clearly.

⁵No longer will the ^awicked fool be called noble,

Or the rogue be spoken of as generous.

⁶For a wicked fool speaks wicked folly,

And his heart ^adoes wickedness:

To do ^bungodliness and to speak error against Yahweh,

In order to ^cmake the hungry person empty;

He even causes the thirsty to lack a drink.

⁷As for a rogue, his weapons are evil;

He ^acounsels wicked schemes

To ^bwreak destruction on the afflicted with lying words,

^cEven though the needy one speaks justly.

⁸But ^athe noble man counsels noble plans;

And by noble plans he rises up.

⁹Rise up, you ^awomen who are at ease,

And hear my voice;

^bGive ear to my word,

You complacent daughters.

¹⁰Within a year and a few days

You will quake, O complacent daughters;

^aFor the grape harvest is ended,

And the fruit gathering will not come.

¹¹Tremble, you women who are at ease;

^aQuake, you complacent daughters;

^bStrip, undress, and put sackcloth on your waist,

^12aBeat your breasts for the desirable fields, for the fruitful vine,

^13aFor the land of my people in which thorns and briars shall come up,

Indeed, against all the joyful houses and the ^bexultant city.

¹⁴Because ^athe palace has been abandoned, the ¹populated ^bcity forsaken.

²Hill and watchtower have become ^ccaves forever,

A joy for ^dwild donkeys, a pasture for flocks,

¹⁵Until the ^aSpirit is poured out upon us from on high,

And the wilderness becomes a ^bfruitful orchard,

And the fruitful orchard is counted as a forest.

¹⁶Then ^ajustice will dwell in the wilderness,

And righteousness will live in the fruitful orchard.

¹⁷And the ^awork of righteousness will be peace,

And the service of righteousness, ^bquietness and security forever.

¹⁸Then my people will live in a ^apeaceful abode,

And in secure dwellings and in undisturbed ^bresting places;

¹⁹And it will ^ahail when the ^bforest comes down,

And ^cthe city will be utterly laid low.

²⁰How ^ablessed will you be, you who sow beside all waters,

Who ¹let out freely the ox and the donkey.

CHAPTER 33

The King in His Beauty

¹Woe ^ato you, O destroyer,

While you were not destroyed;

And he ^bwho is treacherous, while others did not deal treacherously with him.

As soon as you finish destroying, ^cyou will be destroyed;

As soon as you cease to deal treacherously, others will ^ddeal treacherously with you.

²O Yahweh, ^abe gracious to us; we have ^bhoped in You.

Be ¹their ^2cstrength every morning,

Our salvation also in the ^dtime of distress.

³At the sound of the tumult ^apeoples flee;

At the ^blifting up of Yourself nations scatter.

⁴Your spoil is gathered as the caterpillar gathers;

As locusts rushing about men rush about on it.

⁵Yahweh is ^aexalted, for He dwells on high;

He has ^bfilled Zion with justice and righteousness.

⁶And He will be the ^1astability of your times,

A ^bwealth of salvation, wisdom, and ^cknowledge;

The ^dfear of Yahweh is his treasure.

⁷Behold, their brave men cry in ¹the streets;

The ^amessengers of peace weep bitterly.

⁸The highways are desolate, ¹the ^atraveler has ceased;

He has ^bbroken the covenant, he has rejected the cities;

He has no regard for man.

^9aThe land mourns and languishes,

^bLebanon is humiliated and withers;

^cSharon is like a desert plain,

And Bashan and Carmel ¹lose their foliage.

¹⁰“Now ^aI will be on high,” says Yahweh,

“Now I will be lifted up, now I will be lifted up.

¹¹“You have ^aconceived ¹chaff, you will give birth to stubble;

²My ^bbreath will consume you like a fire.

¹²“The peoples will be burned to lime,

^aLike cut thorns which are burned in the fire.

¹³“You who are far away, ^ahear what I have done;

And you who are near, ¹acknowledge My might.”

^14aSinners in Zion are in dread;

^bTrembling has seized the godless.

“Who among us can sojourn with ^cthe consuming fire?

Who among us can sojourn with ¹continual ^dburning?”

¹⁵He who ^awalks righteously and speaks uprightly;

He who rejects greedy gain of ¹oppression,

And shakes his hands so that they hold no bribe;

He who stops his ears from hearing about bloodshed

And ^bshuts his eyes from looking upon evil;

¹⁶He will dwell on the heights,

^aHis refuge will be the strongholds of the cliffs;

^bHis bread will be given him,

His water will be sure.

¹⁷Your eyes will behold ^athe King in His beauty;

They will see ^ba far-distant land.

¹⁸Your heart will meditate on ^aterror:

“Where is ^bhe who counts?

Where is he who weighs?

Where is he who counts the towers?”

¹⁹You will no longer see a fierce people,

A people of ^1aunintelligible speech ²which no one comprehends,

Of a stammering tongue ³which no one understands.

^20aBehold Zion, the city of our appointed times;

Your eyes will see Jerusalem, an ^babode at ease,

^cA tent which will not be folded;

Its stakes will never be pulled up,

Nor any of its cords ever be torn apart.

²¹But there the Mighty One, Yahweh, will be for us

A place of ^arivers and wide canals

On which no boat with oars will go,

And on which no mighty ship will pass—

²²For Yahweh is our ^ajudge,

Yahweh is ^bour lawgiver,

Yahweh is ^cour king;

^dHe will save us—

²³Your cords hang slack;

They cannot hold the base of their mast firmly,

Nor spread out the sail.

Then the ^aprey of an abundant spoil will be divided;

^bThe lame will take the plunder.

²⁴And no one who dwells there will say, “I am ^asick”;

The people who inhabit ¹there will be ^bforgiven their iniquity.