Isaiah 9:13–13:16

13 But the people have not returnedp to him who struckq them,

nor have they soughtr the Lord Almighty.

14 So the Lord will cut off from Israel both head and tail,

both palm branch and reeds in a single day;t

15 the eldersu and dignitariesv are the head,

the prophetsw who teach liesx are the tail.

16 Those who guidey this people mislead them,

and those who are guided are led astray.z

17 Therefore the Lord will take no pleasure in the young men,a

nor will he pityb the fatherless and widows,

for everyone is ungodlyc and wicked,d

every mouth speaks folly.e

Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away,

his hand is still upraised.f

18 Surely wickedness burns like a fire;g

it consumes briers and thorns,h

it sets the forest thickets ablaze,i

so that it rolls upward in a column of smoke.

19 By the wrathj of the Lord Almighty

the land will be scorchedk

and the people will be fuel for the fire;l

they will not spare one another.m

20 On the right they will devour,

but still be hungry;n

on the left they will eat,o

but not be satisfied.

Each will feed on the flesh of their own offspringb:

21 Manasseh will feed on Ephraim, and Ephraim on Manasseh;p

together they will turn against Judah.q

Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away,

his hand is still upraised.r

10 Woes to those who make unjust laws,

to those who issue oppressive decrees,t

2 to depriveu the poor of their rights

and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people,v

making widows their prey

and robbing the fatherless.w

3 What will you do on the day of reckoning,x

when disastery comes from afar?

To whom will you run for help?z

Where will you leave your riches?

4 Nothing will remain but to cringe among the captivesa

or fall among the slain.b

Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away,c

his hand is still upraised.

God’s Judgment on Assyria

5 “Woed to the Assyrian,e the rodf of my anger,

in whose hand is the clubg of my wrath!h

6 I send him against a godlessi nation,

I dispatchj him against a people who anger me,k

to seize loot and snatch plunder,l

and to tramplem them down like mud in the streets.

7 But this is not what he intends,n

this is not what he has in mind;

his purpose is to destroy,

to put an end to many nations.

8 ‘Are not my commanderso all kings?’ he says.

9 ‘Has not Kalnop fared like Carchemish?q

Is not Hamathr like Arpad,s

and Samariat like Damascus?u

10 As my hand seized the kingdoms of the idols,v

kingdoms whose images excelled those of Jerusalem and Samaria—

11 shall I not deal with Jerusalem and her images

as I dealt with Samaria and her idols?w’ ”

12 When the Lord has finished all his workx against Mount Ziony and Jerusalem, he will say, “I will punish the king of Assyriaz for the willful pridea of his heart and the haughty lookb in his eyes. 13 For he says:

“ ‘By the strength of my handc I have done this,d

and by my wisdom, because I have understanding.

I removed the boundaries of nations,

I plundered their treasures;e

like a mighty one I subdueda their kings.f

14 As one reaches into a nest,g

so my hand reached for the wealthh of the nations;

as people gather abandoned eggs,

so I gathered all the countries;i

not one flapped a wing,

or opened its mouth to chirp.j’ ”

15 Does the ax raise itself above the person who swings it,

or the saw boast against the one who uses it?k

As if a rod were to wield the person who lifts it up,

or a clubl brandish the one who is not wood!

16 Therefore, the Lord, the Lord Almighty,

will send a wasting diseasem upon his sturdy warriors;n

under his pompo a firep will be kindled

like a blazing flame.

17 The Light of Israel will become a fire,q

their Holy Oner a flame;

in a single day it will burn and consume

his thornss and his briers.t

18 The splendor of his forestsu and fertile fields

it will completely destroy,v

as when a sick person wastes away.

19 And the remaining trees of his forestsw will be so fewx

that a child could write them down.

The Remnant of Israel

20 In that dayy the remnant of Israel,

the survivorsz of Jacob,

will no longer relya on him

who struck them downb

but will truly relyc on the Lord,

the Holy One of Israel.d

21 A remnante will return,b f a remnant of Jacob

will return to the Mighty God.g

22 Though your people be like the sandh by the sea, Israel,

only a remnant will return.i

Destruction has been decreed,j

overwhelming and righteous.

23 The Lord, the Lord Almighty, will carry out

the destruction decreedk upon the whole land.l

24 Therefore this is what the Lord, the Lord Almighty, says:

“My people who live in Zion,m

do not be afraidn of the Assyrians,

who beato you with a rodp

and lift up a club against you, as Egypt did.

25 Very soonq my anger against you will end

and my wrathr will be directed to their destruction.s”

26 The Lord Almighty will lasht them with a whip,

as when he struck down Midianu at the rock of Oreb;

and he will raise his staffv over the waters,w

as he did in Egypt.

27 In that dayx their burdeny will be lifted from your shoulders,

their yokez from your neck;a

the yokeb will be broken

because you have grown so fat.c

28 They enter Aiath;

they pass through Migron;c

they store suppliesd at Mikmash.e

29 They go over the pass, and say,

“We will camp overnight at Geba.f”

Ramahg trembles;

Gibeahh of Saul flees.i

30 Cry out, Daughter Gallim!j

Listen, Laishah!

Poor Anathoth!k

31 Madmenah is in flight;

the people of Gebim take cover.

32 This day they will halt at Nob;l

they will shake their fistm

at the mount of Daughter Zion,n

at the hill of Jerusalem.

33 See, the Lord, the Lord Almighty,

will lop offo the boughs with great power.

The lofty trees will be felled,p

the tallq ones will be brought low.r

34 He will cut downs the forest thickets with an ax;

Lebanont will fall before the Mighty One.u

The Branch From Jesse

11 A shootv will come up from the stumpw of Jesse;x

from his roots a Branchy will bear fruit.z

2 The Spirita of the Lord will rest on him—

the Spirit of wisdomb and of understanding,

the Spirit of counsel and of might,c

the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—

3 and he will delight in the feard of the Lord.

He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,e

or decide by what he hears with his ears;f

4 but with righteousnessg he will judge the needy,h

with justicei he will give decisions for the poorj of the earth.

He will strikek the earth with the rod of his mouth;l

with the breathm of his lips he will slay the wicked.n

5 Righteousness will be his belto

and faithfulnessp the sash around his waist.q

6 The wolf will live with the lamb,r

the leopard will lie down with the goat,

the calf and the lion and the yearlinga together;

and a little child will lead them.

7 The cow will feed with the bear,

their young will lie down together,

and the lion will eat straw like the ox.s

8 The infantt will play near the cobra’s den,

the young child will put its hand into the viper’su nest.

9 They will neither harm nor destroyv

on all my holy mountain,w

for the earthx will be filled with the knowledgey of the Lord

as the waters cover the sea.

10 In that dayz the Root of Jessea will stand as a bannerb for the peoples; the nationsc will rally to him,d and his resting placee will be glorious.f 11 In that dayg the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the surviving remnanth of his people from Assyria,i from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt,j from Cush,b k from Elam,l from Babylonia,c from Hamathm and from the islandsn of the Mediterranean.o

12 He will raise a bannerp for the nations

and gatherq the exiles of Israel;r

he will assemble the scattered peoples of Judah

from the four quarters of the earth.t

13 Ephraim’s jealousy will vanish,

and Judah’s enemiesd will be destroyed;

Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah,

nor Judah hostile toward Ephraim.u

14 They will swoop down on the slopes of Philistiav to the west;

together they will plunder the people to the east.w

They will subdue Edomx and Moab,y

and the Ammonitesz will be subject to them.a

15 The Lord will dry upb

the gulf of the Egyptian sea;

with a scorching windc he will sweep his handd

over the Euphrates River.e

He will break it up into seven streams

so that anyone can cross over in sandals.f

16 There will be a highwayg for the remnanth of his people

that is left from Assyria,i

as there was for Israel

when they came up from Egypt.j

Songs of Praise

12 In that dayk you will say:

“I will praisel you, Lord.

Although you were angry with me,

your anger has turned awaym

and you have comfortedn me.

2 Surely God is my salvation;o

I will trustp and not be afraid.

The Lord, the Lord himself,q is my strengthr and my defensea;

he has become my salvation.s”

3 With joy you will draw watert

from the wellsu of salvation.

4 In that dayv you will say:

“Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name;w

make known among the nationsx what he has done,

and proclaim that his name is exalted.y

5 Singz to the Lord, for he has done glorious things;a

let this be known to all the world.

6 Shout aloud and sing for joy,b people of Zion,

for greatc is the Holy One of Israeld among you.e”

A Prophecy Against Babylon

13 A prophecyf against Babylong that Isaiah son of Amozh saw:i

2 Raise a bannerj on a bare hilltop,

shout to them;

beckon to them

to enter the gatesk of the nobles.

3 I have commanded those I prepared for battle;

I have summoned my warriorsl to carry out my wrathm—

those who rejoicen in my triumph.

4 Listen, a noise on the mountains,

like that of a great multitude!o

Listen, an uproarp among the kingdoms,

like nations massing together!

The Lord Almightyq is musteringr

an army for war.

5 They come from faraway lands,

from the ends of the heavenss—

the Lord and the weaponst of his wrathu—

to destroyv the whole country.

6 Wail,w for the dayx of the Lord is near;

it will come like destructiony from the Almighty.a z

7 Because of this, all hands will go limp,a

every heart will melt with fear.b

8 Terrorc will seize them,

pain and anguish will gripd them;

they will writhe like a woman in labor.e

They will look aghast at each other,

their faces aflame.f

9 See…